Pakistani Cricketers: Bringing Glory and Defamation Together

WEB DESK: Human error is undeniable but indiscipline is consensual. Representing one’s country may be a dream for many but those few who reach that stage may not lug the burden comes along. Pakistani cricketers were recently charged with violating isolation guidelines in New Zealand and received a strict warning.

There had been many Pakistani cricketers who committed mistakes but never bemoaned them.

However, what they left behind was a bad precedent which the youngsters who admired their heroes followed.

A reflection of it was seen during the ongoing tour of New Zealand by the Pakistan team amid the coronavirus situation.

The Pakistani players and staff were charged with violating the code of conduct and six of them tested positive for novel coronavirus too.

With constant violations coming from the visiting team, the host threatened the visitors with canceling the tour if they did not abide by the prescribed precautionary guidelines.

Here we will have a look at some of the past incidents where ‘big names’ were perpetrators of bringing defamation to the country.

Intractable Shahid Afridi

Back in 2005, Pakistani All-Rounder Shahid Afridi, renowned as Boom Boom, tampered the pitch during a match between England and Pakistan at Faisalabad in 2005.

As the play was stopped due to a cylinder blast probably in a kitchen of the stadium.

Boom Boom rushed to the pitch and maneuvered over it. However, he forgot that surreptitious action was caught by a plethora of cameras.

Apart from the three-match-ban he was served with, Pakistan received defamation at the hands of its superstar.

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In the first ODI between Pakistan and South Africa at Centurion in 2007, frustrated Afridi swung the bat at a spectator while walking back to the dressing room.

Boom Boom was entitled to a ban of four ODI matches.

In a match between Australia and Pakistan at Perth, Afridi thought of a ball as chewing gum and did not shy to bite it in front of thousands of spectators. He got banned for two T20Is.

Shoaib Akhtar: Controversially yours

After the warning of the New Zealand government, the former pacer advised the Pakistan cricket team to return as a protest.

However, his services besides winning matches for Pakistan is known to many.

Before the first match of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007, he struck fast bowler Muhammad Asif with a bat.

The former speedster was sent back to Pakistan and was also banned for five matches.

He then made statements against PCB and made rounds to the court for that.

His career remained mired in controversies as his dope test resulted back positive while sometimes he broke the curfew and sometimes he was dropped from the team saying he was not fully fit.

If he was running the management, Pakistan would surely be on the track back home.

When Captain Sarfraz Ahmed forgot where he was playing!

Playing cricket in the streets of Karachi has its own fun but maybe Pakistan Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed forgot that he has reached the international level.

In Karachi, Saifi, who used to call someone fat, someone thin, and someone black, addressed the host team’s all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo during the match against South Africa in 2019 as ‘Abe Kaalay’.

Perhaps, Saifi didn’t realize how insensitive his remarks were.

However, South African batsman Hashim Amla intervened and the balloon of controversy was deflated.

Still, the ex-captain landed a four-match ban for his racist comments.

‘Swinging’ Muhammad Asif

Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar formed a pair with the ball that not many batsmen desired to face.

But, both bowlers frequently got into trouble due to indiscipline.

In August 2010, the fourth Test between England and Pakistan was found to be involved in a spot-fixing scandal.

Asif publicly confessed to spot-fixing in 2013 after having been banned for five years by the ICC.

He was also sentenced to a year in prison before that but was released in six months after he pleaded guilty.

Inzi beats spectator

Former Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq rushed to an Indian spectator after the match against arch-rivals India at Toronto in 1997. He beat the Indian spectator for calling him ‘Potato’.

Four young stars charged with drug possession

During the 1993 tour of the West Indies, Captain Wasim Akram, vice-captain Waqar Younis, Aqib Javed, and Mushtaq Ahmed were booked for possessing drugs.

PCB’s efforts managed to bring them out.

However, at a time when there was no internet or television, the element of conspiracy cannot be ruled out.

But, the incident left a stain on all four players which is still in the memories of cricketing fans to this day.