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Sohail to put his money where his mouth is

Controversial Pakistan opening batsman Aamir Sohail appears before the disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board today (Thursday) to provide evidence substantiating his charges of large scale bribery, corruption and match-fixing in Pakistan cricket.

The national selection committee, meanwhile, postponed the selection of the team to tour Sri Lanka for the upcoming Asia Cup quadrangular by a day, in order to provide time for the disciplinary committee to examine Sohail's charges and decide whether or not to clear him for selection.

Sohail has, however, not yet responded to the earlier instructions of the PCB and deposited the Rs 50,000 imposed on him as fine for breaching the code of conduct and giving a media interview when he was under contract to the PCB.

Interestingly, though the selectors are faced with acute players shortage, they are reluctant to pick Sohail to make up the numbers. Word from sources within the PCB is that Sohail's candidature has the backing of top level government officials.

Chief selector Salim Altaf, however, appeared sanguine and insisted that Pakistan would be able to field a strong team. "While 12 players appear to select themselves automatically, Akhtar Sarfaraz, Mohammad Ramazan, and Basit Ali would be the main contenders for the remaining two slots. One place could also go to pace bowler Azhar Mahmood, who is now in England with the A squad. There is a proposal to recall him for the Asia Cup and then rush him back to England at the end of the tournament," Altaf told the media.