da fezbet： Pakistan have delayed the announcement of their preliminary list of 30probables for the Champions Trophy after the selection committee and thegoverning board could not meet to finalise the selection
da cassino online： Cricinfo staff11-Jul-2008
It’s still unclear whether Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif are eligible for the Champions Trophy © AFP
Pakistan have delayed the announcement of their preliminary list of 30probables for the Champions Trophy after the selection committee and thegoverning board could not meet to finalise the selection. Though theselectors had already sent a list of 30 names, four players require theapproval of a board committee as they are not on the list of 26 playerswith central contracts or retainerships. Confusion over the eligibility ofShoaib Akhtar, who is on the list, has also caused the delay.The announcement was meant to be made yesterday in accordance with ICCdeadlines, but is now going to be made on Monday, for which the ICC hasgranted clearance. “We have a policy or a vision for the first year toconcentrate mostly on the 26 players we are paying a monthly salary orretainer to,” Shafqat Naghmi, chief operating officer, told Cricinfo.”This pool numbers 26 and we needed 30,” he added. “We had also decidedthat if any extraordinary talent outside this pool emerges, then we havemen like Mudassar Nazar, Aaqib Javed and Haroon Rasheed at the academy whospot this talent. So anytime selectors pick outside this 26, a committeeheaded by Zakir Khan needs to just approve that these are the guys weshould pick. That was scheduled for this morning but couldn’t happen andwill now happen on Monday.”The other issue that should be resolved on Monday is that of Shoaib. It islearnt that Shoaib’s inclusion in the list was even approved by NasimAshraf, the board chairman, but as the fast bowler has yet to clear the Rs7 million fine, he cannot be named in any list of probables. Shoaib wasbanned for five years by the board in April for various acts of indiscipline.He appealed against the ban to an appellate tribunal which reduced it to 18 months but imposed a fine of seven million rupees on him. The bowler then filed a petition to the Lahore High Court against the ban and finelast month. The court suspended the ban but refused to clear the fineuntil the case is taken up for regular hearing in September. The board’slegal opinion suggests that Shoaib will become eligible after he pays thefine.”We got the written court order today,” Naghmi said. “They suspended theban but not the fine. We have asked our lawyer whether Shoaib becomeseligible after paying the fine and the lawyer believes that is the case.We’ve sent a letter to Shoaib to pay the fine by Monday.”The board, it is believed however, is willing to be flexible on the issueof payment. It is unlikely that Shoaib will miss out on inclusion becauseof non-payment and the board might give him time till the announcement of thefinal 15 to pay off the fine.As well as Shoaib, Mohammad Asif has also been included in the 30-man listthough his final status is also subject to the findings of a PCB committeeon his recent detention in Dubai. The fast bowler was held back at Dubai airport for 19 days on his way back from India, allegedly after he was caught with a recreational drug by airport authorities.The three-man committee, which includes Naghmi, Zakir and Nadeem Akram,will begin its work from Monday, after receiving documents related to thecase from Dubai.
