11 March,2010 08:14 AM IST | | Corresepondent
The Pakistan Cricket Board has ruled outu00a0 pardoning the seven players against whom it has initiated strict disciplinary action for breaches of their central contracts, insisting it wanted to bring about a change in the culture of Pakistan cricket.
PCB chairman Ijaz Butt told MiD DAY last night that there would be no pardons for the players even if they appealed against the bans and fines imposed on them. "There is a clear system to deal with such cases in the Board. The players can appeal before an appellate tribunal that we will form and if they are still not satisfied they can also appeal in the court," Butt said firmly.
"We have decided to implement the recommendations of the inquiry committee after much discussion. We feel these strong decisions are necessary to improve the state of cricket in Pakistan," he said.
"Our decision should help arrest the decline in Pakistan cricket," Butt added.
He also made it clear that the inquiry committee had taken into account all aspects before giving their recommendations. "It is not a case of one isolated incident of indiscipline. We have seen a gradual decline of discipline in Pakistan cricket and a culture of violating rules and challenging the authority," he said.
The Board imposed an indefinite ban on Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan, a 12-month ban on Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved besides fines of three million rupees each on Shahid Afridi and Kamran Akmal, and two million rupees on young Umar Akmal.
There has been a mixed reaction on the severe action taken by the PCB. Many consider it as an eyewash by Butt and his team to save their seats in power.
