Lahore, March 20: After permitting former captain Mohammad Yousuf to play in the Bangladesh league earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has allowed two another banned players Shoaib Malik and all-rounder Naved-ul-Hasan to play in a domestic Twenty20 league in Bangladesh.
Mailk and Naved alongwith five other players has been banned and fined by the national cricket board following their disastrous tour of Australia. Pakistan lost all three Tests, five ODIs and the lone Twenty20 match down under.
Former captains Younis Khan and Yousuf were banned indefinitely while right-handed batsman Malik and right-arm pacer Naved received one-year bans. Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal were fined between Rs 2-3 million (24,000-35,000 dollar) and put on six-month probations.
”The penalties on these players were for international cricket for the Pakistan team, but they are eligible to play in domestic competitions, so they are cleared to play in Bangladesh,” PCB’s chief operating officer Wasim Bari said.
The bans, however, do not extend to domestic cricket in Pakistan and competitions abroad although the PCB confirmed no player can participate in overseas competitions without prior approval. ”Besides Malik and Naved, some other players also applied for permission and we have an open mind on that,” Bari added.
——–Agencies