Pakistan team management took the decision of dropping Younis Khan and Shoaib Akhtar for the second and third One-day Internationals against Zimbabwe, apparently, on disciplinary grounds if reports filtering in from Bulawayo are to be believed.
A reliable source in the Pakistan Cricket Board claimed on Wednesday that both the players had not been selected for the second and third one-dayers after being involved in a heated brawl during nets with each other in Bulawayo. “Things nearly got totally out of hand with Younis and Shoaib picking up bats,” the source claimed according to a eye witness account.
He said the eye witness said the trouble had started when Shoaib kept on goading Younis, who is fasting regularly, after beating him a few times in the nets and this led to exchange of words between them and then things got out of hand.
According to him, the touring disciplinary committee which includes the manager, captain and vice captain as a disciplinary measure decided to drop Younis and Shoaib for the matches to give out a clear message that such incidents would not be tolerated. “Both the players have also been fined for their actions,” the source added.
However, when contacted, the PCB said it had no knowledge of such a incident taking place nor had the touring management informed it of such a incident. This is not the first incident of this sort. The last time Pakistan toured South Africa, Ijaz Ahmed and Aamer Sohail had got involved in a fight during nets while more recently, Yousaf Youhana was sent back from Nairobi after misbehaving with captain Waqar Younis.
