`No wedding gift for Shoaib by lifting 1-year ban`

Islamabad: Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Director of Cricket Operations Zakir Khan has denied reports regarding the one year ban imposed on all-rounder Shoaib Malik being lifted as a gift for his recent marriage with India Tennis sensation Sania Mirza.

When asked about the issue Khan told a website that such speculations had no substance in them.“The PCB has made its decision but the affected players also have certain rights under the PCB constitution. One of which is the right of appeal. The players have appealed and now the matter moves to arbitration. The arbitration panel will consider the evidence and testimonies and then evaluate whether the PCB``s decision was correct or not. Only after that can we move forward, until that happens we can only speculate,” he explained. Khan stressed that the ban and fines imposed on players were based on first hand information after the disastrous Australia tour.“The PCB enquiry committee was formed to look into the poor performance during the tour of Australia and what the causes behind it were. Evidence and testimony from players and administrators was presented to the committee and the final decision was based on that,” he added. ANI