Pakistan stops banned Malik from touring

KARACHI: Pakistan cricket authorities Friday stopped banned former captain Salim Malik from touring Sri Lanka with a v
01 Oct, 2011

The Pakistan veterans cricket team, who will play four one-day matches on their September 30-October 7 tour, had included Malik in the squad but had to drop him on the advice of cricket authorities.

Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) chairman Fawad Ijaz said Malik had been withdrawn on the instructions of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) director Intikhab Alam.

"We had the understanding that Malik has been cleared so we included him in the squad but Alam told us that he is not cleared by the International Cricket Council, so we have withdrawn him," Ijaz told AFP.

Malik was banned from the sport for life in 2000 over claims that he asked the Australian trio Shane Warne, Tim May and Mark Waugh to under perform during their tour of Pakistan in 1994.

Malik's name was linked to an Indian match-fixing inquiry that led to a life ban -- later overturned -- for former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin in 2000.

The late South Africa captain Hansie Cronje, also banned for life for involvement in match-fixing, named Malik as an offender.

The PCB also had to overturn a decision to appoint Malik as national cricket academy coach in 2008 after ICC reportedly questioned the appointment.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011

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