Mohammad Hafeez Reprimanded By PCB For His Comments On Sharjeel Khan

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) CEO Wasim Khan has slammed veteran batsman Mohammad Hafeez for his recent comments on Sharjeel Khan. The former Pakistan captain recently made it clear that he is not at all fine with the prospects of the tainted batsman returning to the Pakistan team.

Sharjeel Khan recently returned to high-profile cricket by playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The left-handed batsman, who played for Karachi Kings in this year’s PSL, competed his ban last August after PCB suspended his sentence following an “unconditional apology”. Sharjeel Khan was banned in 2017 from all forms of cricket for his role in the spot-fixing scandal that marred the PSL’s second edition.

On the opening night, Sharjeel and Khalid Latif, playing for Islamabad United, were charged with five major breaches of the PCB’s anti-corruption code, and found guilty on all five counts by a three-man tribunal.  The two were later sent home from Dubai where the tournament was being played.

And while only time will tell whether Pakistan would recall Sharjeel or not, Mohammad Hafeez has revealed his take on the matter. Replying to a tweet earlier this week, the veteran allrounder commented: “Shouldn’t we set standards of dignity and pride higher than any other ‘Extra Talent’ to represent Pakistan. Just Asking”

Wasim Khan reprimands Mohammad Hafeez:

At a time when PCB is probably considering the prospect of recalling Sharjeel Khan to the national set up once again, Mohammad Hafeez’s comment in public has unsurprisingly miffed the board. And Wasim Khan did not hold back as he slammed the batsman for his comments.

“Current players should not be going up on social media to criticise other players or talk about what policies the cricket board should or shouldn’t have.

“They can have their opinions about various things about world cricket and cricket in general but not about the rights and wrongs of players and the boards and they should leave that to cricket board to answer,” Wasim Khan was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

“I will be personally speaking to Mohammad Hafeez about that and I don’t think it’s his place to be doing it. No other player in the world does that so why should our Pakistani players do that? I don’t think they have any space to do that and I don’t think they should be doing that. That’s my personal view. Coming from an English environment, I never saw an English player tweet about policies, procedures, talking about other players’ right or wrong. My view is, he should focus on his own game, focus on the cricketing opinion he can give but don’t give personal opinion about other players,” he added.

This is not the first time Mohammad Hafeez has questioned a player on his return from a ban. In December 2015, he and current Test captain Azhar Ali stayed away from a training camp ahead of a tour of New Zealand because tainted Mohammad Amir was picked in the team.

Also Read: Mitchell McClenaghan To Play For New Zealand Again? Pacer Answers