PCB officials visit to casino under scrutiny

COLOMBO: Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) current media manager Umar Farooq Kalson and board’s General Manager (International Cricket) Adnan Ali are under scanner after pictures and video footages emerged of the duo visiting a Colombo casino.

The two are officially representing the PCB and their visit to a gambling den during the Asia Cup is likely to draw the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit as casinos are places prohibited from being visited according to the governing body’s code of conduct.

After some Pakistani news channels ran headlines, the two officials in the Casino later clarified that they had only gone to the Casino to have dinner, a claim ridiculed by all and sundry on social media and also by some former test players.

This is not the first time that PCB officials have been spotted in a casino.

Chairman PCB Zaka Ashraf when asked about the viral video on social media did not respond to media queries.

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During the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Pakistan’s former captain Moin Khan who was manager and chief selector with the team, was called back to Pakistan in the middle of the tournament after he and his wife were spotted at a Casino in Christchurch before a match against West Indies.

Moin also claimed his innocence that they had gone to have dinner but the then PCB Chairman, Shaharyar Khan made it clear that Moin had breached the team’s and his contractual code of conduct.

Khan at that time had justified his strong action to recall and then sack Moin by pointing out that all PCB officials and players had to adhere to the board’s and ICC’s Anti-Corruption Code which strictly advised against visiting places where gambling takes place or there are increased chances of corruption