#HarisRauf was penalized by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) yesterday. In press release, the board while explaining its position stated, “The PCB management provided a chance for a personal hearing to Haris in compliance with the principles of natural justice on 30 January 2024 and his response was found unsatisfactory.
“The PCB states that playing for Pakistan is the ultimate honour and privilege for any sportsperson. Refusal to be part of Pakistan’s Test squad (for the tour of Australia) in the absence of any medical report or justifiable reason is a material violation of the central contract.”
PCB then decided to terminate Haris Rauf’s central contract. The right-armer will also not get No Objection Certificate (NOC) to play any foreign league till June 30, 2024. So, here is a look at whether or not the decision makes sense.
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Why The Decision To Penalize #HarisRauf Makes Sense
In recent months, Haris despite his pace hasn’t really performed at the international level and while he might be the only one to have refused an international tour, he is certainly not the only one whose performance has gone down.
Rumors suggest that because of their engagement in league cricket, Pakistani cricketers suffer from fatigue and hence, they are not able to produce the desired results when on national duty. The decision makes sense because it is important to set an example for local players and to send a message across that explains to them that national duty has to be prioritized and that you cannot skip important national tours for the sake of it.
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Why The Decision Doesn’t Make Sense
Perhaps, people running PCB need to cut down their own foreign tours and perks otherwise, so that national cricketers can be paid better. You cannot deprive international cricketers the right to make money during their prime years because the profits they make are likely to serve them for rest of their lives. If PCB really wants to limit league activity for their centrally contracted players, then it would make sense for them to pump money in domestic tournaments so that local cricketers can earn a decent amount without opting to play abroad.