The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) kicked off an internal inquiry against PCB Marketing Director Badar Rafayi after he was spotted with banned Test player Danish Kaneria in Houston, US.
Despite a lifetime ban from the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for spot-fixing, Kaneria reportedly played at least one match of the Friendship T20 series, that ran through April 11-13.
Apart from Kaneria, several Pakistan international players like Nasir Jamshed, Wahab Riaz, Abdul Razzaq and Fawad Alam took part in the event.
The 33-year-old leg-spinner represented Pakistan in 61 Tests and 18 ODIs. He was banned at the peak of his career — with 261 Test wickets that included 15 five-wicket hauls.
Kaneria is now awaiting a decision on his ban after a hearing in London High Court’s Commercial Court. The verdict is due this week
Recently, the leg-spinner had accused the ECB for treating him unjustly while adding that they had taken away his livelihood.
“The board will conduct an internal inquiry into the matter of Rafayi seen in pictures with Kaneria,” a PCB official told a local daily.
“Several eyebrows have been raised over the fact that a senior board official was seen with Kaneria during a cricket series. The PCB will deal with the matter in order to curtail any unnecessary controversy.”
The official added that the board may also interrogate the other Pakistani players for participating in an event where a banned player was playing. He stressed that even though the players have a right to earn money, they must avoid such tournaments as it could harm their reputation.
Last year, the International Cricket Council had raised objections when another banned Pakistani player, Mohammad Asif, went to play in a club match in Norway on the invitation of some local organisers.
