September 12, 2007	Wednesday	Sha'aban 29, 1428

LAHORE, Sept 11: Pakistan cricket team manager Talat Ali has shown concern over the leaking of the recent brawl incident to the media by any of the players which resulted in the expulsion of fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar from the Twenty20 Championship.

In the initial report about the incident submitted to the PCB Chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf, Talat is of the view that the incident got blown out of proportion only after a news item about it appeared on a private TV channel. The manager believes that the case was as good as resolved in Johannesburg when the media in Pakistan suddenly fuelled the row with its extensive coverage.

According to team sources, once the story came out in the Pakistani media, the manager suddenly found himself being pressured by the board to take strong action and he decided to send Shoaib back with a five-match suspension.

However, the PCB chief ordered that a thorough inquiry be held into the affair soon after the team’s return from South Africa.