Younis not permitted to rejoin KP

PCB says no one is bigger than the game

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided not to allow former Pakistan captain Younis Khan to rejoin Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for their remaining matches of Pakistan Cup, saying no one is bigger than the game.

It served Younis with a show-cause notice on Tuesday for breaching clauses of his central contract after he left his team following a row with the umpires.

“Younis has been a great servant of Pakistan cricket and a true role model for youngsters. I feel pained making this decision as we have to demonstrate that no one is bigger than the game,” PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan was quoted as saying in a press release on Tuesday.

“We will wait for Younis to respond before we proceed further in this matter,” he added.

Younis breached clauses 2.2.1 (c), 2.2.2, 2.2.5 and 2.2.8 and breaches No. 17 and 20 of Schedule 5 of his central contract.

He has been asked to explain his position to the PCB within seven days.

“In the light of the above pending disciplinary proceedings and due to the fact that a replacement player has already been added to the KP team, it has been decided in the interest of the game not to allow Younis to rejoin the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa team in the Pakistan Cup,” the Board said.

“In accepting the recommendations of the match referee a fine of 50 percent of his match fee has been imposed on Younis Khan,” the Board said.

The PCB said that Younis had questioned the umpires’ decisions in the Pakistan Cup match between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

The umpires reported this matter to the match referee who charged Younis under level-II of the code of conduct for players and player support personnel and imposed a fine of 50 percent of Younis’ match fee.

“Under the code a notice of charge was handed over to the team manager of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mukhtiar Hussain and a hearing was set by the match referee. However, the team manager informed that Younis had refused to accept the notice of charge and later left the team in protest,” the PCB said.

It said Younis subsequently called the PCB chairman in Dubai and apologised for his behaviour and requested the chairman for permission to join Khyber Pakhtunkhwa again for the remaining matches. “The chairman clarified that while we have all regards for Younis who has served the country with honour, he would follow the process dealing with such situation as stipulated in the relevant rules,” it said.

This correspondent learnt that KP manager Mukhtiar Hussain had a word on phone with Younis on Tuesday about his joining the team.

Younis told him that he would inform him later. Three hours after this contact, the PCB informed media about its step of serving Younis with a show-cause notice.

Younis led KP in two outings. In Younis’ absence Ahmed Shehzad led KP to a 74-run victory over Balochistan. KP face Sindh in a vital game on Wednesday (today). The team winning the game will qualify for the final.