New Delhi: Australian cricketer James Faulkner has left the Pakistan Super League (PSL) abruptly, leaving his team — the Quetta Gladiators — in the lurch. Faulkner alleged that he was compelled to leave because he wasn’t paid fees on time and that the Pakistani officials had lied to him throughout the tournament.
The row between Faulkner and PCB became public when the cricketer Saturday tweeted that he will be withdrawing from PSL’s last two matches because the Pakistan Cricket Board had not honoured his contractual agreement. “I’ve been here the whole duration and they have continued to lie to me,” he said.
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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
Faulkner further said it “hurts” him to leave because his reason for joining Pakistan’s own version of the T20 league was “to get international cricket back in Pakistan as there is so much young talent and the fans are amazing.”
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It hurts to leave as I wanted to help to get international cricket back in Pakistan as there is so much young talent and the fans are amazing.
But the treatment I have received has been a disgrace from the @TheRealPCB and @thePSLt20
I’m sure you all understand my position.
— James Faulkner (@JamesFaulkner44) February 19, 2022
ESPN reported that Faulkner had thrown his bat and helmet onto a chandelier in the hotel after a heated discussion with a PCB official. Faulkner had played six PSL games this season, and taken six wickets while scoring 49 runs.
He has become the latest cricketer to sever ties with Pakistan, adding to the country’s setbacks as it tries to regain its footing as an important destination in world cricket.
Last year New Zealand and England called off tours in Pakistan over security concerns.
After New Zealand cancelled its tour of Pakistan, Dawn quoted a PCB official as saying, “this is a blow to the efforts the PCB, the government and the security agencies who had been making to fully restore international cricket in Pakistan.”
31-year-old Faulkner is a bowling all-rounder, right-handed batsman with a left-arm fast medium bowling style. He has also played in the Indian Premier League with the Gujarat Lions. Faulkner was the first Australian to take a five-wicket haul against Pakistan during the 2016 T20 World Cup tournament.
‘Reprehensible behaviour, gross misconduct’
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and PSL franchise Quetta Gladiators, however, issued a joint statement Saturday denying Faulkner’s allegations and said the Australian cricketer will never be part of any PSL tournaments in future.
“The PCB and Quetta Gladiators are disappointed and dismayed with the reprehensible behavior of Mr James Faulkner, who was also part of the Abu Dhabi-leg of the HBL Pakistan Super League in 2021, and, along with all participants, has always been treated with utmost respect,” read the statement.
“In the seven years of the HBL Pakistan Super League, no player has ever complained about the nonfulfillment of the PCB’s contractual obligations,” the statement added.
The statement further said that before leaving Pakistan Faulkner had “caused deliberate damage to the hotel property and as a result had to pay damages to the hotel management. The PCB later also received reports and complaints from the immigration authorities that Mr Faulkner had acted inappropriately and abusively at the airport.”
The PCB said it sees “Faulkner’s gross misconduct” as an attempt to bring Pakistani cricket and its administration “into disrepute”, adding that there has been a unanimous decision by the PCB and all franchises to exclude Faulkner from any future HBL Pakistan Super League events.
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