Afridi Noc could be Cleared meeting in islamabad

A compromise between the PCB and former captain Shahid Afridi is likely following a meeting between the board chairman Ijaz Butt and Afridi in Islamabad, bringing to an end one of the biggest player-board disputes in recent memory in Pakistan.

"I did meet Afridi in Islamabad but I cannot say any more than that at the moment," Butt told ESPNcricinfo. He refused to indicate if the meeting had an outcome or whether there was an announcement to be expected. A statement from the board later said no further announcements will be made.

Speculation indicated that through this agreement, Afridi will be given the No Objection Certificates he needs to play for Hampshire and later in the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL). In return, he will withdraw the petition he filed in the Sindh High Court against the board's decision to form a disciplinary committee, cancel his central contract and revoke his NOC and will face any punishment the committee hands out.

In effect, the situation appears to have returned to when Afridi first replied to the board's showcause notice, in which he accepted violating the code of conduct and expressed a willingness to face a hearing if his NOC was reinstated. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for June 16 at the Sindh High Court and Afridi could withdraw his petition then.

The meeting is believed to have been the result of intervention of senior political figures; from the start the dispute took on a political character. Afridi had appealed directly to Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari, who is the chief patron of the board, to resolve the situation. He had met Zardari's son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in London and had spoken to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif as well on the matter.

Rehman Malik, the interior minister and mediator in past disputes, also got involved, promising on Twitter to find a solution. The flurry of activity prompted the PCB to issue a rare statement expressing displeasure at the political interference, compelling Butt to tell a local newspaper of his exasperation at the number of phone calls he had received on the matter.

Advisors close to Afridi are also believed to have tried convincing him to reach a compromise with an administration under whom he has publicly said he will not play again, after having been removed as ODI captain in May. Though Afridi was unconvinced at first, the possibility of losing out on the Twenty20 stint with Hampshire - who were looking at Chris Gayle as a replacement option - forced his hand.

"We've remained hopeful all along, and we are very hopeful that an announcement can be made soon," Rod Bransgrove, Hampshire's chairman, told ESPNcricinfo. "But we cannot say anything more definitive beyond that at this stage.

"We had to look at all contingency options, and Chris Gayle's name was one of those names that came into the frame," Bransgrove said. "But we have remained hopeful all along that Afridi would receive clearance to join us for the remainder of the Twenty20 campaign."

Amir confirms playing for Surrey club and Gave Justification

Mohammad Amir, the banned Pakistan fast bowler, has confirmed that he played for Addington in a Surrey Cricket League Division One match on June 4 but said that he took part only because he was told playing would not violate his ICC ban. His comments come in the wake of revelations in the Daily Star that the ICC is investigating whether he violated his five-year ban for spot-fixing by turning out for Addington.

"I was informed by club representatives before the game that it was a friendly match, being played on a privately owned cricket ground," Amir told PakPassion.net. "I asked the club representatives if the match fell under the jurisdiction of the ECB and they informed me that the match did not. I spoke to several club representatives about the issue and they all told me that it was a friendly match and therefore would not contravene my ban from the ICC. I was informed that I was fine to play."

Amir also denied that he had signed any registration documents with the club and insisted that he would never have taken the risk of playing had he known it was an official match.

"I would not be stupid enough to knowingly play in a match that I knew would contravene my ban. Wherever I am going to play cricket, the world will know about it. I would not be stupid enough to play in a match where I knew that I would be taking a risk".

Amir was central to Addington's 81-run victory in the game, against St Luke's CC. He surprisingly opened the innings and scored 60 before returning figures of 4 for 9 in seven overs.

This is not the first time Amir has appeared in a game which has had to be investigated by cricket authorities. Earlier this year in January, when he was under provisional suspension and still awaiting punishment for the Lord's scandal, he turned out for a Rawalpindi club to play a friendly game. That prompted the ICC and PCB to investigate the nature of the game before the former eventually concluded that it was an unofficial game and the club wasn't registered with the Rawalpindi cricket association; Amir was thus found to have not broken the ICC's anti-corruption code of conduct

Afridi wants contract, NOC reinstated befor going to court

Two days before he is due to appear before a PCB disciplinary committee, Shahid Afridi and his lawyers asked the board again for justice, which in this case centred around an appeal to reinstate his central contract and NOC before the June 8 hearing. Flanked by Syed Ali Zafar and Mahmood Mandviwalla of the legal firm Mandviwalla & Zafar, the trio refused, however, to rule in or out Afridi's appearance at the hearing.

Much of an energetic press conference at the Karachi Press Club - Afridi's first public appearance since his return on Sunday night from the UK - reiterated the demands of the four-page letter the legal firm sent to the PCB over the weekend, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. Both lawyers stressed repeatedly that they were asking only for a due process to be followed and that the act of suspension of the central contract and NOC withdrawal were punishments before the player had been heard.

"Due process means if there is an accusation against someone, he should be allowed to defend that," Zafar said. "He should have a legal representative there, his point of view should be allowed and a fair and just inquiry should happen and then a decision. What has happened is that a showcause notice has been sent, he has been accused of things and a punishment given. We say you can give punishment, but hear out our player first. It is a principle of natural justice."

Soon after he was sent a showcause notice, Afridi responded to the board and accepted that he had violated the code. But Zafar insisted that guilt or innocence was not yet the matter. "There is no admission of guilt or innocence," Zafar said. "We have only said, carry out the proceedings but that the NOC and the suspension of contract, take that back and listen to us first. After that, make a decision. They have acted without hearing us out. This is our position and this is the right legal position. We are hopeful that they will make the right decision. It is just the way they have adopted currently shows that they have judged beforehand."

In a press release issued a few hours before the press conference, the board said it would allow Afridi a legal representative at the hearing, one of the demands of Afridi's lawyers. But both Zafar and Mandviwalla said they had received no such communication yet and refused to say definitively whether that meant Afridi would appear at the hearing or not. However, the PCB's legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi told ESPNcricinfo that after the press conference, Afridi's lawyers had been told they will be allowed in, though they had yet to respond to it.

"If this process remains, then that [not appearing] is an option," Zafar said. "But if they really write a letter to us saying that a lawyer is allowed then we can think about it. We have no issue appearing but if this process remains, we cannot go."

Afridi's arrival at Karachi airport on Sunday night drew thousands of supporters. Indicative of his popularity and background as a Pathan resident in Karachi, the occasion even saw a rare unity among the city's strongest and constantly bickering political parties, the MQM and ANP. "I wanted to thank the public and the support I was given last night. People are saying that this is a political issue but when I got out of the airport, I saw flags of MQM, ANP, PPP (the ruling party), and especially the Pakistan flags. This is not a political thing. Many feel what I have done is right and that what has happened with me is wrong."

Afridi has been in touch with political figures through the mess, though he would only say that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari - whom he bumped into at a dinner in London, he said - were keeping abreast of matters. "They know who is right and wrong, this is about power and who has that we all know," he said.

Otherwise he reiterated much of what he has been saying over the past week. He was upset that he had heard of his removal through the media, he wanted his NOC back, he was not seeking a fight, merely justice. "I am not here to fight, I am a cricketer, I want to play cricket. I want what is my right," he said. "If they don't want me to play for Pakistan, but at least let me play domestic cricket or county cricket. I want my right, my NOC."

He did warn, however, of the implications such a dispute between player and board can have on both current and future players. "An example should be set for cricketers of the future. Many things were a problem under my captaincy, whether that is management or anything else, there were problems. Until those things are solved….if I come back and those problems are still there, they will only increase over time. Those things need to be cleared so future cricketers don't suffer and focus purely on cricket.

"There are other senior players who are having problems, but because of central contracts they don't say anything. They worry about their careers. It is not just me who has the problem. If I get out of the way today, one of them will come up. We want to finish these issues and focus on cricket. The way the board is treating all players is wrong. This is not how you finish player power, by humiliating them. I have played 13-14 years and I don't want to finish like this, I want to leave with respect."

Afridi Came Back Now For Hearing To His On Going Dispute

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is set to return to Pakistan tonight in a bid to resolve his ongoing dispute with the PCB. Afridi, who is currently in London, is scheduled to appear before a three-man disciplinary committee formed by the board on June 8 in Lahore, to face charges that he has breached two clauses of the code of conduct with his retirement announcement and subsequent criticism of the board.

Mandviwalla and Zafar Associates, the legal firm representing Afridi, had sent a letter to the PCB on June 3 in a bid to resolve the on-going dispute between the two parties. At the time, Afridi's management told ESPNcricinfo that he would appear before the committee. However, some reports suggest that Afridi and his legal team may not attend the hearin

g as the allrounder is reportedly uncomfortable with an in-camera hearing that the PCB want, though this has not yet been confirmed.

Over the last couple of days, Afridi is reported to have met and spoken to a number of Pakistani political figures in London and Pakistan, including, apparently, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (the son of the Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari) and former prime minister and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif. He has already appealed directly to the president to look into the matter, and the country's interior minister Rehman Malik has also got involved.

A measure of his popularity - or influence - emerged over the weekend as several areas of Karachi saw banners and signs appear supporting Afridi. There is the likelihood of his arrival attracting a fair crowd to the airport and there are reports that a rally will be organised in support once he arrives.
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