The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday imposed a fine, besides issuing a warning to Umar Akmal and Junaid Khan for their alleged misconduct during a domestic tournament, which surfaced last month.
The controversy stirred up when Umar Akmal, who was captaining Punjab team during Pakistan Cup 2017, criticised Khan in a veiled manner and expressed his unawareness in connection with the absence of Khan before the start of a match. The tournament was held in Rawalpindi last month.
“I am just told that Junaid is absent. I am surprised. The manager and the coach have informed me that he is not going to play today. This is shocking information for me as a captain,” Akmal had told a reporter.
Shortly, in a tit for tat reaction, Khan uploaded a video message on social media, clarifying his position. In his message, Junaid Khan said that he had already informed the team management that he would not be able to turn up due to medical reasons. He held the captain responsible for the situation.
“I am disappointed to hear what Akmal has said about me. He tried to give the impression that I ran away from the match. In fact, I am dealing with food poisoning and I have duly informed the team management about this. The team doctor has advised me to take rest,” Junaid had stated in the video clip.
The statement of Umar followed by Khan's reaction prompted PCB to take a notice of the situation and constitute a committee to probe into the matter. Subsequently, the committee found both the players guilty of violating the PCS's code of conduct.
The committee imposed a fine of 50 per cent of the match fee, on both Umar Akmal and Junaid Khan.The Board also warned the two players that they will be under observation for a month starting May 18 and re-occurrence of breach of discipline will lead to one-month suspension.
Both the players are on the contract of PCB's champions trophy squad and are currently in England.
