DUBAI Pakistan's leading cricketer Shahid Afridi has been banned for two Twenty20 internationals by the International Cricket Council for ball tampering.
The ICC says Afridi was guilty of “changing the condition of the ball” in Sunday's two-wicket loss to Australia in Perth.
Afridi, leading the team in the absence of rested captain Mohammad Yousuf, was caught by television cameras chewing on one side of the ball while walking with bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan in the fifth and final match at the WACA in Perth.
Under International Cricket Council rules any attempt to change the condition of the ball through illegal means is a violation of the players' code of conduct and is liable to punishment.
The on-field and third umpires reported the incident to match referee Ranjan Madugalle who conducted separate hearings with team manager Abdur Raqeeb and Afridi before handing the player a two-match international Twenty20 ban.
Afridi pleaded guilty and told AFP from Perth he was ashamed of the mistake.
“I am ashamed. I did it in the heat of the moment as the match was a close one, but I should not have done that, it's a serious offence,” he said.
“I apologise to all and everyone involved in the match and to the fans around the world. This will never happen again.”
Pakistan lost Sunday's match by two wickets for a 5-0 cleansweep, only their second such whitewash in one-day history.
“Being the captain I should have been a role model for my players which I was not but I hope I will be forgiven,” added Afridi.
“It is unacceptable,” Intikhab Alam, the Pakistan coach, said. “It should not have happened but it happened and I feel sorry for him. Being a captain you should be above everything but unfortunately it's happened.”
The punishment poses a quandary for Pakistan, who end their tour of Australia with a Twenty20 in Melbourne on Feb 5. Yousuf, who captained Pakistan in Tests and ODIs, is not part of the Twenty20 squad and Younus Khan, who was captain before the tour of New Zealand which preceded this one, has retired from the format.
Shoaib Malik, who was captain in all three formats this time last year, might be one of those in the running to take charge. Afridi will also now miss the first Twenty20 against England in Abu Dhabi in February.
Another candidate is Kamran Akmal, the Pakistan wicketkeeper and vice-captain. However, his own form with the gloves has been poor. He was dropped for the third Test in Hobart, following a debacle in the previous Test in Sydney, where he dropped Michael Hussey thrice to give Australia a chance to sneak back into the match and eventually beat Pakistan by 36 runs.
“I thought it was disgraceful,” Australian seamer Clint McKay said. —Agencies
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