PCB to select World Cup players without ICC assistance

DUBAI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will not send a list of potential players for the 2011 World Cup to the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Anti-corruption and Security Unit before selecting the final squad.

This was decided at a meeting of the national cricket selection committee, headed by former Test player Mohsin Khan.

The names of the players for the upcoming New Zealand tour and World Cup were also discussed in the meeting.

The PCB had said earlier that it will seek guidance from the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit while finalising the preliminary 30-member squad for the World Cup.

The Chief Executive of ICC Haroon Lorgat on Saturday categorically denied  impressions that the  cricket world’s governing body in anyway was interfering in the affairs of  PCB.

“We are not in any way dictating terms with the PCB and giving them advises on  certain issues including selection of the team for the Cricket World Cup,” he told APP Sports Correspondent Ehsan Qureshi in an exclusive interview at the Dubai Sports City International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

“The PCB is an independent body and they have to take their own decisions in various matters. We are not interferring  with them,” Lorgat said.
He denied that the ICC has issued any instructions to the PCB not to pick players like Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal or Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan in the 30-man provisional squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
“The PCB is free to select their teams and run their affairs. The ICC just wants to extend assistance in streamlining their things,” he commented.

Responding to a question about the return of international cricket to Pakistan, he said it was premature to say anything at this stage.

“The Pakistan Task Team has been looking at this since January 2009 and looking at ways how it can help bring international cricket back to Pakistan. But it is difficult to give  any time frame about it at this point in time,” he pointed out.

He said as per the ICC rules, Pakistan will be allowed to include the three players facing the charges of spot-fixing—Salman Butt, Muhammad Aamir and Muhammad Asif—in the  World Cup squad if they are cleared by the ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal which hold its hearing in Doha (Qatar) from January 6 to 11, 2011.
Haroon Lorgat said he had great sympathy with Pakistan cricket and wanted to help them in all positive ways and means.
Reacting to the inclusion of ICC Code of Conduct Commissioner Michael Beloff, in the Anti-Corruption Tribunal, Haroon said: “You have to read and understand the ICC Anti-Corruption Code for Players and Officials which clearly explains the process and allows Michael Beloff to chair the tribunal.

“The hearing in October was all about whether the three players should be allowed to return to international cricket on the basis of the charges which were levelled by the ICC ACSU General Manager. In January, the tribunal will decide whether there was enough evidence to back those charges.”

According to ICC Anti-Corruption Code  Article 5.1.2, Beloff will be the chairman of the three-member committee which also include Justice Albie Sachs of South Africa and Sharad Rao of Kenya.

Article 5.1.2 of the Code says: “The Chairman of the ICC Code of Conduct Commission shall appoint three members from the ICC Code of Conduct Commission (which may include the Chairman) to form the Anti-Corruption Tribunal to hear each case. One member of the Anti-Corruption Tribunal, who shall be a lawyer, shall sit as the Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Tribunal.”

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