KARACHI, Sept 1: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday said it had no worries about the availability of captain Inzamam-ul Haq for next month's Champions Trophy as it was confident that the International Cricket Council would clear him of all charges soon.

“As far as we are concerned Inzamam is not guilty of these charges and we are consulting our legal advisors about it. We are confident the charges will be dropped against him and he will lead the team in the Champions Trophy,” PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan said.

The Pakistani selectors are due to announce their 14-member squad for the premier one-day tournament, to be hosted by India in October-November, on September 7.

The ICC laws say that a team cannot replace a player in the Champions Trophy squad if he is ineligible to play due to a disciplinary ban. Replacements are only allowed if a selected player has been injured.

“We have also asked the ICC to have the hearing definitely around 26 and 27th of September,” Shaharyar said.

“We feel we have a very strong case in favour of Inzamam and the team. Our legal experts are looking into every aspect of the case,” he added. —Agencies

Our Lahore Correspondent adds: Federal Sports Minister Shamim Haider said on Friday that ad hocism in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should be done away with and he would discuss the matter with the President of Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf who is also the patron of the board.

Talking to journalists after inaugurating the Quaid-i-Azam women hockey tournament on Friday, the federal minister said the PCB was being run by an ad hoc body for the last seven years and now the board must get rid of this system.