Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi Tuesday began a court battle against the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) when he filed a petition in the Sindh high court against the board's decision to suspend his central contract.
"On behalf of Shahid Afridi, we have filed a petition in the Sindh high court against the sanctions on our client and have appealed for a stay order against the sanctions," Afridi’s lawyer Mahmood Mandviwalla said.
Afridi returned home from London Sunday night after the PCB suspended his central contract and blocked his participation in the English Twenty20 event by revoking a No Objection Certificate (NOC) granted to him following the player’s outburst against the Board last week.
At a press conference here at the Karachi Press Club Monday, Syed Ali Zafar and Mahmood Mandviwalla of the legal firm Mandviwalla & Zafar contended that the PCB has violated article 10-A of the 18th amendment by 'punishing' Afridi without giving him a fair trial.
Flanked by his lawyers, Afridi was defiant at the crowded press conference as he vowed to fight for his rights.
"I'm not here to fight. I'm a cricketer and want to play cricket,” said the former Pakistan captain. "I want my rights. I want my NOC. I want justice,” he stressed.
Later Monday evening, Afridi called on the Sindh governor, who hailed the allrounder as a national hero.
“Shahid Khan Afridi is a national hero and his fame is not confined to the country,” said Sindh governor Ishratul Ebad when Afridi called on him at the Governor’s House. Sindh sports ministerMuhammad Ali Shah was also present on the occasion.
The governor said that matters pertaining to the players and the cricket board were purely a domestic affair and should be treated as such. He said that making such differences of opinion public not only marred the image of the national heroes but it also created a negative image of the cricket board.
Ebad said that right now all eyes were on Pakistan and “it is up to us to project a positive image of the country to the world”. He said that both the board and the players should create an environment of mutual trust and harmony.
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