SHC upholds Afridis overseas ban

KARACHI - The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday adjourned hearing on a petition moved by former skipper Shahid Khan Afridi against Pakistan Cricket Board PCB's disciplinary proceedings, till June 16. A division bench consisting Chief Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Aqeel Abbasi heard a constitutional petition filed by the former captain, wherein PCB counsel Tafazzul Rizvi Advocate appeared in the court and challenged the court jurisdiction in the case and also submitted that the constitutional petition moved by Shahid was not maintainable to hear and he pleaded to refuse it. The counsel argued that the petitioner should have moved to Lahore High Court (LHC) instead of SHC as the PCB headquarter is located in Lahore, therefore, SHC does not have the right to hear Afridis case. Rizvi contended that no-objection certificate (NOC) is issued to the players by the PCB under central contract, if the board suspends the central contract of any player, so it is not bound to retain NOC as well. The lawyer continued that Afridi had a forum to defend himself and contest his case but he ignored it and moved to the Sind High Court against PCB. The petitioner has to appear before the disciplinary committee in any case to submit his explanation and try to prove himself as innocent. The court asked the PCB counsel to submit a detailed reply regarding maintainable of the petition, wherein the PCB lawyers requested to the court to grant further time to submit the detailed comments. The court granted his request and directed him to ensure providing the comments and also sustained the prior directives. The national cricket governing body suspended Afridi's central contract, revoked all his NOCs which would have allowed him to play in England and Sri Lanka and served him with a show-cause notice last week. Earlier, the court had stayed the committee's proceedings against Afridi, after he had filed a petition challenging the validity of the sanctions imposed on him by the PCB. The board took disciplinary action against the petitioner for allegedly breaching code of conduct by given some controversial statements in the media after he was dumped as one-day captain, and levelling allegations against the board. Afridi's lawyers, Syed Ali Zafar had sent a letter to the PCB in a bid to resolve the dispute between the two parties, and have 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. He said that the PCB lawyers are applying delaying tactics that is causing financial loss to Afridi, therefore, he is considering the option of suing the board. The court asked that if the petitioner facing financial losses so he should file a damages suit. In the last hearing, the petitioners counsel termed the disciplinary actions and show-cause notices issued by the PCB as illegal. Chairman PCB and federal sport secretary were cited as respondents in the petition. The petitioner pleaded that the PCBs decision regarding imposing of ban on him and revoking his no-objection certificate (NOC) be nullified, and restrain the board from taking other disciplinary actions against him.

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