S Hasan: Evidence being sought to penalise Ramiz Raja (5 Aug 1997)

05 August 1997

Evidence being sought to penalise Ramiz Raja

By Samiul Hasan

KARACHI, Aug 4: The Disciplinary Committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is seeking evidence on the basis of which it can take punitive action against Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja.

According to insiders, the chairman of the disciplinary committee, Talat Ali, is trying to contact the tour disciplinary committee chairman Salim Malik to inquire if his panel took the necessary action in Colombo. Till Monday evening, Salim Malik could not be traced by Talat as the stylish batsman, reportedly, is in Rawalpindi. The other two members viz Saeed Anwar and Moin Khan, are in the city.

Ramiz Raja, it may be mentioned here that, had gone on to the field along with his counterpart Arjuna Ranatunga for the toss in green shorts. Raja, for this act, was taken to task by the Sri Lankan Press as well as television viewers who were taken by surprise.

Raja was also fined Rs 20,000 by Talat Ali's panel on the even of Sri Lankan visit for writing a diary of the Indian tour (Independence Cup) and criticising the attitude of former captain Salim Malik (a violation of the contract Raja signed with the PCB).

Initial investigations by this correspondent reveal that the tour disciplinary committee, which fined Shahid Afridi US$200, did not penalise the Pakistan captain for the breach of Code of Conduct. One of the members of the committee said he did not see his captain entering the field in shorts. "I was in the bathroom to freshen up for the match after a gruelling pre-match warmup session," he said on condition of anonymity.

There are indications that chairman of the disciplinary committee may seek the help of television recordings to find if Raja really broke the dress code.

Talat Ali admitted from Lahore saying: "I am trying to find out if anything of that sort really happened. Until I reach a conclusive decision, I cannot comment any more."

The former Test batsman also admitted that he has been asked by the PCB to investigate the Shahid Afridi episode. "I have received a letter from the PCB and I am waiting for certain relevant documentary material," he said.

Talat Ali was not willing to say anything more but according to sources in the PCB, the chief of the disciplinary committee is perplexed as "he has received contradictory reports from his own independent sources." Well informed sources said Zaheer Abbas and Haroon Rasheed have said in their tour reports that the behaviour of the players was exemplary and the boys served as true ambassadors of the country.

"But at the same time, four cricketers were fined in Sri Lanka for indiscipline. Moreover, some of the cricketers often visited night clubs. These facts confuse Talat Ali and he is searching for hidden realities," sources revealed.

Zaheer and Haroon, according to sources, in their reports, have played down the alleged misbehaviour of Shahid Afridi on way back to Pakistan. The two officials have reportedly given a clean sheet to not only the one-day star but also to the three players who were also fined by Salim Malik's body at Colombo.

Shahid Afridi (US$200), Arshad Khan, Shahid Nazir and Kabir Khan (US$50 each) were penalised for various acts of indiscipline. According to informed sources, Majid Khan, the PCB supremo, was also unaware of the reasons for which the four cricketers were fined. "He only knows that the four cricketers including, Afridi, were penalised but he doesn't know the background of the fines.

"The tour disciplinary committee has not informed the PCB because if feels that the PCB didn't appoint it but it was the team management which set it up," said the sources.

It has been learnt that the tour disciplinary committee has given in writing about the incidents and decisions taken by it on the tour. But the interesting part is that Zaheer and Haroon have neither attached the reports of the tour disciplinary committee nor they have mentioned anything of the sort in its reports.

As far as the collection from the fines (US$350) is concerned, the entire squad enjoyed a festive dinner from it.

Source:: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)