PCB confirms Pak players under Integrity Committee’s radar for clearance

KARACHI - The Pakistan Cricket Board’s Chief Operating Officer, Subhan Ahmed, has confirmed that some national players are under the scrutiny of the board’s Integrity Committee.

However, he declined to disclose the names of the players, who are being investigated by the committee before they can be given a green signal to play for the national team.

“It would not be appropriate for me to take names but there is a understanding between the PCB and the International Cricket Council (ICC) and this applies to all boards that integrity of all players who play for the national teams must be above board at all times,” the Daily Times quoted Ahmed, as saying.

The PCB COO made these comments when asked about the committee’s ongoing inquiry into top players like Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and Danish Kaneria, who have been asked to submit the details of their properties and other documents by December 30.

Ahmed declined to comment on how many players were on this list, but said that it was a process where the players once cleared would be able to represent their country without any problem.

“We are signatories to the ICC anti-corruption code, and as a matter of policy, the PCB has also decided to be very clear before selecting players for international assignments,” he said.

Ahmed also made it clear that the ICC had no involvement in the entire process, saying, “The reports that we had sent a list of 45 players to the ICC for clearance is not correct. We have our own process of clearing players.”

The PCB has taken an extension until January 5 to announce its World Cup probables, and Subhan said that the decision to ask for extra time was necessitated due to the ongoing inquiry. (ANI)