Razzaq fined by PCB for criticising Hafeez
KARACHI: Veteran all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has been fined Rs. 100,000 by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for publicly criticising Pakistan's Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez, DawnNews reported.
Zaka Ashraf, the chairman of the PCB, said that the matter was resolved after meeting with both Razzaq and Hafeez.
Speaking at a joint press conference, Razzaq admitted his mistake and said he was deeply ashamed while Hafeez said that he was glad they were moving past the incident.
"There are conflicts everywhere but we should forget the past and think about the future," the captain said.
Razzaq had lashed out at Hafeez for dropping him for the World Twenty20 semi-final against Sri Lanka. He was replaced by left-arm pacer Sohail Tanvir in the match that Pakistan lost by 16 runs, allowing Sri Lanka to reach the final.
“It was Hafeez’s decision not to pick me for the semi-final, not anyone else’s,” Razzaq said.
PCB served him a show-cause notice saying that Razzaq had breached the player’s code of conduct, which forbids players from speaking to the media without prior permission from the board.
In his reply, Razzaq said that his remarks were not intended to hurt anyone and were said in anger. He added that he was upset at not being included in the team and apologised for his outburst, saying that he had no conflict with anyone in the team.
The PCB chairman later clarified that Razzaq’s exclusion from the semi-final line-up had been a unanimous decision.
Razzaq played one match during Pakistan’s World T20 2012 campaign, when he was picked in the Super Eight tie against Australia in which he scored 22 runs. The all-rounder was also part of the team in the two warm-up matches prior to the tournament.
The right-arm batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler made his debut for Pakistan in 1996 and has played 265 one-day internationals, 46 Tests and 30 T20 internationals for his country.