LAHORE: Pakistan’s runaway wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider got into deeper trouble as his legal team decided to back out in London. Natasha Malik, a lawyer representing the firm fighting his asylum case, said her firm will not be able to represent the wicketkeeper any longer.
“We have tried unsuccessfully to get in touch with him for the past few days, left him messages and so on and yet he has not contacted us at all. He was supposed to come in for some important meetings pertaining to his asylum case with the UK authorities but he didn’t show up for these meetings and in such circumstances, we see no point in continuing to represent him any longer,” she was quoted as saying by British media. The refusal is a big blow to the cricketer as earlier Ansar Barni Welfare Trust had also decided against taking the case.
Zulqarnain fled from the team hotel in Dubai last month without informing the team manager or his captain. His mysterious disappearance sparked and he later reached London where he claimed that he was threatened by bookmakers to under-perform. Recently, he had threatened on Facebook that he would work to expose all those who were involved in corrupt practices in Pakistan cricket.
However, ever since the threats emerged, he has been untraceable with his London numbers on an answering machine. The British authorities will decide the fate of his asylum application this week. However, the legal firm said that it was fed up with his attitude after he failed to stay in touch despite of constant reminders.
The wicketkeepers wife and family also said that they had received threatening phone calls from mysterious people. Sources in the PCB have said that they have been considering options on how to deal with the refugee wicketkeeper. A number of options have been discussed and the PCB might send him a legal notice soon for indiscipline and other similar charges.
Meanwhile, Haider’s threats to expose PCB officials involved in corruption has left the cricketing fraternity in the country worried.
