Umar Akmal and Junaid Khan fined for misconduct at the Pakistan Cup
What’s the story?
Pakistani cricketers Junaid Khan and Umar Akmal have been fined 50 percent of their match fee as strife occurred between the two during a Pakistan Cup game between Punjab and Sindh last month.
PCB's three-member inquiry committee, headed by General Manager of Domestic Cricket Operations Shafiq Ahmed, and comprising the coach and manager of Punjab, served a warning to the two players, stating that they will be under observation for a month.
"The Pakistan Cricket Board has imposed a fine, i.e. fifty percent of the match fee, to Umar Akmal and Junaid Khan for their misconduct at the Pakistan Cup 2017 held last month in Rawalpindi. The Board has also warned the two players that they will be under observation for a month starting 18th May and re-occurrence of breach of discipline will lead to one-month suspension," PCB said in a statement.
In case you didn’t know...
The hullabaloo was set into motion when the Punjab captain Akmal indicted Junaid for not informing the skipper of his absence for the match. Akmal reportedly went on to realise this only once he entered the field.
However, Junaid was asked to rest as a precautionary measure due to a suspected case of food poisoning.
The heart of the matter
The Punjab captain was furious after learning that Junaid was not present for the fixture. Umar only came to know of the news during the toss at which time he broadcast his annoyance. He later went on to claim that Junaid ran away from the team.
Junaid, in his defence, released a video voicing his disagreement on the matter. In the video he claimed that he was advised to rest by the team doctor as he was dealing with a case of food poisoning and the team management was well aware of the fact.
What’s next?
The PCB has stated that a breach of discipline will possibly lead to a suspension for both players. Where the worry lies for the national team as a whole is that both players are a part of Pakistan’s Champions Trophy squad.
Author’s Take
A clear case of miscommunication is what has given rise to the entire ruckus. The two players must put their differences aside and focus on the Champions Trophy as their campaign commences against arch-rivals India next month.