HBL cricketers mulling legal battle

KARACHI: The management of Habib Bank Limited (HBL) has started sending termination letters to its cricketers and the team staff, ‘The News’ learnt on Tuesday.

HBL had announced a few days ago that it was "demobilising" its cricket team, which had been participating in domestic tournaments for more than 40 years.

The HBL cricketers have decided to fight a legal battle for their rights, sources said. Pakistan’s renowned fast bowler Umar Gul, when contacted, said that the HBL administration had sent the termination letters with three month salary to the players and support staff but they had not signed any letter.

He said that termination letters had been sent to the residence of some players during the last couple of days. He said that it was shocking to all players who had had a long association with the bank. "I have been playing for HBL for last 15 years," he added.

More than 35 people would lose their jobs as a result of the management’s decision, Gul said. The lanky pacer said that all players and officials had decided to fight the legal battle for their rights. "How could they deprive us of our bread and butter after we have given them the best of our energies," he said.

Gul said that the players had contacted a renowned lawyer to fight the case. He said that HBL had won Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and also won the Quaid-e-Azam One-day Cup, but some "narrow-minded people in HBL decided to close the team for their personal benefits".

Test cricketer Imran Farhat has played for the bank for 19-20 years. Abdul Rehman, also a Test cricketer, played for the bank for more than 20 years. Some young cricketers, including Junaid Khan, Fakhar Zaman, and Abid Ali, had joined HBL after leaving their permanent jobs in various institutions.

Head coach Saleem Jaffar, a former Test cricketer, had left the PCB to join HBL only a few months ago. It is pertinent to mention here that HBL has signed a sponsorship deal with PCB for PSL. Others employed by the bank include Imam-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, and Faheem Ashraf.