Match-fixing has returned to haunt Pakistan cricket with the parliamentary committee on sports summoning PCB chief Ejaz Butt, captain Younus Khan and coach Intikhab Alam to seek explanation for the team's Champions Trophy loss to Australia after allegations of deliberate underperformance.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ejaz Butt resisted a call for his resignation on Wednesday during a parliamentary committee hearing into PCB affairs and the national team's poor performance on their tour to Australia. Head of the parliamentary committee Jamshed Dasti told media he has asked the 71-year-old Butt to resign and let Pakistan cricket move forward under a young leadership.
Chairman of National Assembly standing committee on sports, Iqbal Muhammad Khan once again blamed PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt for Pakistan's debacle in England and asked for his removal.
An annoyed Younis Khan on Tuesday quit captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team after being grilled by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports, which wanted him to explain the team's performance in the recent Champions Trophy.
Pakistan National Assembly's Standing Committee on Sports chairman Jamshed Dasti has back tracked from his earlier statement in which he had accused the Pakistani cricket team of 'fixing' the ICC champions Trophy matches against Australia and New Zealand.
Pakistan National Assembly's Standing Committee on Sports has directed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to file a case against those security officials who didn't respond to the call of duty during the terror attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in March this year.
PCB chairman Ejaz Butt and captain Younis Khan and coach Intikhab Alam will appear before the National Assembly standing committee on sports on Tuesday to respond to the match-fixing allegations labeled against them during the Champions Trophy in South Africa.
Gautam Gambhir may be a familiar Pakistan nemesis on the field but the aggressive opener threw his weight behind Younis Khan and his men saying it is impossible to believe that they had tanked their matches in the ICC Champions Trophy. Gambhir said it is wrong to blame cricketers of match fixing if they end up on the losing side.
Pakistan skipper Younis Khan said he would not tolerate the slur of match-fixing levelled against him and his teammates and would resign from the captain's job if he felt so.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan on Wednesday dismissed match-fixing allegations against the Pakistani team in the Champions Trophy but felt the players were over-confident.
Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan told a parliamentary committee on sports on Monday that he had been unjustly treated by the cricket authorities and the indefinite ban imposed on him after the Australian tour should be lifted immediately.
Younis Khan on Thursday made it clear to the Pakistan Cricket Board that he would withdraw his resignation from the captain's post only if he is retained at the helm till the 2011 World Cup.
The National assembly's Standing Committee on Sports in Pakistan observed that in recent months, India had been trying to isolate Pakistani sportspersons by depriving them a chance to compete in international events.
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