A Relieved Shahid Afridi
Pakistan’s sacked national ODI captain Shahid Afridi has withdrawn his case against the Pakistan Cricket Board from the Sindh High Court as part of an apparent deal with the board to resolve his ongoing dispute with them.
Mahmood Mandviwalla, Afridi’s legal counsel appeared on behalf of the all-rounder before a two-member bench of the High Court and withdrew the petition filed by Afridi against the board and its disciplinary proceedings against him.“The bench after hearing us out allowed us to withdraw our petition. We are hopeful that Afridi will get a just solution from the board to his grievances,” Mandviwalla told reporters.
The withdrawal by Afridi of his petition comes a day after he met PCB chairman Ijaz Butt in Islamabad in the presence of an influential government personality and the two discussed the ongoing dispute. “It was a very positive meeting and hopefully now things are being sorted out,” he said.
Sources said that as part of the deal with the board, Afridi will now appear before the board’s disciplinary committee in Lahore on Thursday and produce an apology for his violation of the board’s code of conduct. In return, the board’s committee is expected to impose a financial penalty on the all-rounder and issue him NOC’s to play in lucrative foreign leagues.
“We didn’t want to move court but were forced. Now, I hope Afridi will get the NOC (no-objection certificate) and will be able to play in England and Sri Lanka,” Mandviwalla added.
According to well-informed sources, the Board will grant the NOC to Afridi to join Hampshire by next week after he met Chairman Ijaz Butt in the presence of a government official in Islamabad on Tuesday.
“The meeting has had some positive outcome and for Afridi, the good news is that he can go and play for Hampshire as long as he withdraws his case and also appear before the disciplinary committee of the board,” a source said.
Afridi’s manager Umran Khan also confirmed to BBC radio that the meeting went very well and both parties had come to an amicable agreement to end the dispute between them.
He added that he had spoken to Hampshire manager, Giles White and “they’re very pleased that it’s all sorted out.”
While the PCB confirmed the meeting took place, it refrained from sharing details of the discussion that took place.
“The PCB confirms the meeting was held,” read the board’s media release issued hours after it was held.
“The PCB will not make any further comment on the discussion at this stage.”
Tags: Cricket, Mahmood Mandviwalla, Pakistan, Pakistan Cricket Board, PCB, Shahid Afridi
