Inzamam barred from owning T10 franchise

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has prohibited chief selector Inzamamul Haq from owning a franchise or being involved in any manner in the recently launched T10 cricket league in Sharjah, set to be held in December this year.

Chairman PCB Najam Sethi had earlier said that Inzamam will be asked to disassociate himself with the said league only if it goes against the board’s policies.

However, a PCB official has told The Express Tribune that the board has already asked Inzamam to not get involved with the T10 league in any capacity whatsoever.

Sethi, days ago, had said that Inzamam is only a ‘consultant’ to the board and cannot be stopped from indulging in other activities as long as they’re not in direct conflict with the PCB’s policies. “If any of those activities are in conflict with the board then only can he be stopped,” he said. “Inzamam can, therefore, be a ‘consultant’ for the franchises but not buy teams.”

Inzamam, too, has issued a timely clarification that he doesn’t have any interest —ownership or otherwise —in the T10 league and that the entire episode was a media fabrication.

“The PCB has told me I cannot do anything that goes against the board’s policies,” he simply said.

Inzamam’s statement is in direct conflict with the T10 league organisers’, who in reply to Sethi’s query, have revealed that even though the chief selector doesn’t own any of their franchises, he does have some interest in their operation as his brother Intizarul Haq is a shareholder in one of their franchises.

Despite barring Inzamam, Sethi is not unsupportive of the T10 league idea, saying that if the Emirates Cricket Board wants to launch it, the PCB will help them out in any way they can.

“They have supported us a lot by letting us have UAE as a neutral venue and now it’s our time to help them back,” he said.

On the matter of Pakistani players’ participation in the said league, he said: “The organizers want our players to be a part of their league just like many others from around the world. We told them that if the league schedule doesn’t clashes with our international matches or training camp, [they are free to play].”

The T10 league organisers have already changed their schedule to accommodate Pakistan players and are confident of attracting some top names.

“The PCB’s approval means Pakistan stars such as Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Amir, Babar Azam, Ahmed Shehzad and Fakhar Zaman [among others] will feature in the upcoming T10 Cricket League player draft in November,” read a statement of theirs.

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