Afghanistan’s Shahzad suspended for a year

KABUL: Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad has been handed one-year suspension and he will not be able to play “any form of cricket” during the period, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced on Sunday.

The ACB had earlier suspended Shahzad indefinitely for breaching the board’s code of conduct. Shahzad’s suspension stems from his breach of a policy that requires players to seek the board’s permission before travelling out of the country. ESPNcricinfo understands that Shahzad is based in Peshawar and was recently seen practising there.

“ACB has well-equipped training and practice facilities within the country and Afghan players do not require to travel abroad for such purposes,” the ACB said in a statement. Last year, the ACB had fined Shahzad and asked him to relocate to Afghanistan permanently or risk having his contract terminated.

Shahzad spent his early years in a refugee camp in Peshawar, but his parents are originally from Nangarhar, Afghanistan. Like many of his Afghanistan team-mates, Shahzad grew up near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border; he also got married in Peshawar.