ISLAMABAD: A day after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Quetta Gladiators refuted the “baseless claim” of fast bowler James Faulkner who accused HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) organisers of failing to honour his contract, former cricketers called on the board to deal with the Australian cricketer strictly.
Faulkner quit the tournament midway on Saturday, claiming the cricket board lied to him during his six-game stint in the league.
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I apologise to the Pakistan cricket fans.
But unfortunately I’ve had to withdraw from the last 2 matches and leave the @thePSLt20 due to the @TheRealPCB not honouring my contractual agreement/payments.
I’ve been here the whole duration and they have continued to lie to me.— James Faulkner (@JamesFaulkner44) February 19, 2022
The PCB, in response, lambasted Faulkner’s conduct as “reprehensible”, announcing the player would be banned from future PSL drafts. It also accused him of misbehaving with immigration authorities and letting his side down.
A joint statement by the franchise and the board said Faulkner’s agent sent British bank account details to transfer fee payments to, before sending revised bank account details the following month, this time for a bank account in Australia.
By this time, the PCB had already transferred 70 percent of the money owed to the players, including Faulkner and “the receipt of this payment was acknowledged by Mr Faulkner”.
The remaining 30 percent is transferred to players’ accounts within 40 days after the PSL ends.
The statement also pointed out that no player had ever complained about the non-fulfilment of the contractual obligations in seven years of the tournament.
“In spite of the money being transferred and received in his account, Mr Faulkner continued to insist that a second duplicate payment of the same amount be made to his account in Australia. This meant Mr Faulkner would have been paid twice.”
Speaking on Geo News programme Jashan-i-Cricket, former captain Inzamam ul-Haq said strict action would have been taken if a domestic player had acted the way Faulkner did in a foreign country.
“Faulkner did wrong. Such things are very important for the dignity and honour of the country,” he observed.
The batting legend called on the PCB to take strict action against any player who levels such allegations.
‘FOOLISH BEHAVIOUR’
Former pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar also criticised Faulkner. Sharing his thoughts on his YouTube channel, Akhtar slammed Faulkner for tarnishing the image of Pakistan and “strictly condemned his action”.
He felt that matters pertaining to financial issues could have been discussed with the authorities involved rather than misbehaving, referring to his hotel-room incident where Faulkner damaged the chandelier.
“We are trying to build a franchise model in Pakistan. PSL is getting bigger and better by the day and we are contributing as much as we can. But such incidents, like Faulkner, who is a part of our community, he has no right to defame Pakistan.
The way he overreacted and insulted PSL. You can have complaints and one should have clarity over financial matters, but you should approach it calmly,” said Akhtar.
“Faulkner, however, defamed PCB, misbehaved with the immigration camera. Pakistan’s image matter to me a lot. Faulkner was accepted by Quetta Gladiators despite him being removed from the Hobart side.
Tarnishing the image of Pakistan is not acceptable at all. You should have discussed this with the organisers. But to throw your stuff and break the chandelier that is not good for his image. My heart goes out for him as a cricketer. I strictly condemn his action.”
Akhtar shared the video on his Twitter handle with the caption, “Faulkner’s foolish behaviour should get its due treatment. At the same time @TheRealPCB & @CricketAus should ensure that good relationship continues between the two boards. Nobody is bigger than the game.”
Faulkner’s foolish behavior should get its due treatment. At the same time @TheRealPCB & @CricketAus should ensure that good relationship continues between the two boards. Nobody is bigger than the game.
Full video https://t.co/zsP1rxkITL#JamesFaulkner #PSL2022
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) February 19, 2022
