Rizwan, Imam NCCIA probe: Naqvi says findings due in a few days
PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi says the NCCIA needs more clarity from Mohammad Rizwan before it reports on the dressing-room leak probe. What is known.
The cybercrime inquiry hanging over Mohammad Rizwan and Imam-ul-Haq is close to its end, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Thursday, 12 November, but he would not put a date on it. “I have spoken to the NCCIA and they just need more clarity from Rizwan, after which they will submit their findings in a few days’ time, although I can’t give an exact deadline,” Naqvi said, as quoted by ProPakistani and others.
What the inquiry is about
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) questioned both players over alleged leaks of dressing-room information during Pakistan’s Test tour of England, which Pakistan lost 3-0. Outlook India reported the questions also covered online betting and gambling activity and suspicious financial transactions. The agency took their phones for forensic checks.
Neither player has been charged with anything, and neither has said anything in public about the allegations.
Can they play?
Yes, at home. The PCB cleared both for domestic cricket in October, and they are playing the President’s Trophy: Rizwan captains Sui Northern Gas (SNGPL) and Imam captains OGDC. Rizwan’s form has been strong; he made a double century in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. But neither has been picked for Pakistan while the probe is open, and the PCB has never fully explained why domestic cricket is allowed and international cricket is not.
The awkward part
Naqvi wears two hats. Besides running the PCB, he is Pakistan’s interior minister, and the NCCIA works under his ministry. Critics say that means the same man oversees both the investigation and the players’ careers. Naqvi has not addressed that point directly.
What to watch
The NCCIA report decides whether this ends quietly or turns into disciplinary action. If both are cleared, Rizwan, Pakistan’s former white-ball captain and first-choice wicketkeeper for years, comes straight back into the selection conversation, with the Sri Lanka series under way and the 2nd Test now moved to Rawalpindi.
