Players deny incident ever happened

Karachi, Aug 30: The three Pakistan cricketers on Wednesday pleaded not guilty when they appeared before a one-man inquiry commission of Brig (retd) Mohammad Nasir, insiders said.

Shahid Afridi, Hasan Raza and Atiq-uz-Zaman, who have been accused of breaching players' code of conduct, recorded their statements at the residence of the Pakistan team coach.

The players left for the cricket headquarters from here in the wee hours of Wednesday after being summoned at short notice.

Although the details of the meetings were not known, the trio asserted the incident never happened. They also denied calling girls and claimed they came to know about the `fabricated' press reports when they were in Singapore for the triangular competition.

Brig Nasir, according to sources, has also recorded the statements of the employers of the hotel where the incident is alleged to have taken place.

Brig Nasir is expected to submit his report next week to the PCB chairman Lt Gen Tauqir Zia.