Naghmi trying to malign Muhammad Asif: PCB

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (pcb) said on Wednesday that revelation of its former chief operating officer Shafqat Hussain Naghmi about fast bowler Muhammad Asif was a crude attempt to malign a Test cricketer and cast aspersions on the current management of the Board.

“Naghmi was removed from the PCB by a unanimous decision of the governing board, a fact to which he has not yet reconciled,” said a spokesperson of the PCB while reacting on the statement given by former COO that the committee he headed recommended a fine of Rs.7 million and a ban of seven matches while finding Asif guilty of possessing opium for his arrest at Duabi airport.

“Naghmi’s revelation about Muhammad Asif is a gross violation of government service rules as well as PCB rules and are highly unethical and irresponsible and unbecoming of his part,” the spokesperson said.

Adding, “Naghmi should have realized the dignity and responsibility of his official status before talking to a foreign news agency. Naghmi’s visit to Australia for the purchase of a bio-mechanic lab cost the National Cricket Academy Rs.50 million despite the fact that there is not a single qualified person to run it.”

An inquiry into the Asif’s incident has revealed that the investigating committee headed by Naghmi, Zakir Khan and Nadeem Akram as members-only met for 15 minutes duration during which Asif’s statement was recorded.

It was not his place as a former PCB official to issue any statement against Muhammad Asif and allege negligence to the present management of the PCB for not asking him about the said report on the fast bowler.