Former captains Younus Khan and Muhammad Yousuf had their international futures cast aside and then restored just as quickly after the Pakistan Cricket Board backtracked on its decision to ban the two players. Earlier Wednesday, the PCB said the two “should not be part of the team in any format” following reports of in-fighting during the unsuccessful tour of Australia ending last month. The decision prompted protesters in Hyderabad to burn bats in a brief demonstration but a few hours later the PCB clarified its position saying there was no timeframe on the bans imposed on the two. “The PCB wishes to clarify that the recommendation of the committee is not a life ban on these cricketers,” the PCB's second statement of the day said. “There is no specified term in the recommendation for these two players. As and when the PCB deems appropriate, these players will be considered for selection for the national team.” The official change of stance came hours after it announced Younus and Yousuf would no longer be considered for selection after an inquiry into Pakistan's defeat in every match of their three-Test, five one-day and Twenty20 series in Australia. The PCB handed out 12-month bans to Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved and fined Shahid Afridi and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal three million rupees ($35,000) and Umar Akmal two million. “Muhammad Yousuf and Younus Khan's... attitude has a trickledown effect which is a bad influence for the whole team (and they) should not be part of (the) national team in any format,” the PCB said in its earlier statement Wednesday. The initial decision by the PCB left new head coach Waqar Younis shocked and left to try and rebuild a side for the defense of their Twenty20 World Cup title in West Indies in April. The selectors are due to meet this week to announce the 15-member squad for the World Cup and the board will also announce a new captain. While Yousuf and Younus were not named in the preliminary squad of 30 players for the event, Malik and Rana were. “I want to know what I did wrong,” Rana told Reuters. “I will be consulting with my people before deciding any future line of action.” The PCB said the six-member inquiry committee, headed by its chief operating officer Wasim Bari, had based its recommendations on information gathered during several hearings with the players and reports from the team management. “Younis and Yousuf both cannot represent Pakistan in any international games, but they can play in domestic cricket and compete in county cricket,” PCB legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi told the Associated Press. Afridi and both Akmal brothers will be on a probation of six months during which their conduct will be strictly monitored, the PCB said in a statement. The inquiry committee comprised PCB chief operating officer Bari, board member Wazir Ali Khoja, director of cricket operations Zakir Khan, team manager Yawar Saeed and Rizvi. The players who were handed suspensions and fines appeared before the committee while other team officials – coach Intikhab Alam, assistant coach Aaqib Javed, the then manager Abdul Raqeeb, physiotherapist Faisal Hayat and analyst Mohammad Talha – were also interviewed. “All the recommendations of the inquiry committee were unanimous,” Rizvi said. The committee also looked into manager and coaches reports of Pakistan's tour last year to the United Arab Emirates for a one-day series against New Zealand, its Test series in New Zealand and the disastrous tour of Australia where the team was routed 3-0 in the test series and 5-0 in the one-day series. The penalties were the largest handed out in almost 10 years, since Justice Qayyum's report on match-fixing in 2000 when Salim Malik and Ataur Rehman were handed life bans and several players including Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were fined.
