Clause makes Pak players answerable to team management

Karachi: Pakistan`s cricketers who are presently in Scotland preparing for the Champions Trophy, have had to accept clauses in their new central contracts, which make them answerable to the team management at any time during the tour as part of anti-corruption measures taken by the board to avoid a repeat of the 2010 spot-fixing scandal.

Official sources in the PCB confirmed that the vigilance officer, who has flown to Scotland to join the squad, has been given several responsibilities, but his primary task is to ensure players are not corrupted by unscrupulous elements on the tour. "Major (retd) Asghar has been given wide ranging powers that allow him to inspect a player`s room at any time without any prior notice and to also randomly check the phone records, laptops or Ipads being used by any player," one source told PTI. "The vigilance officer can walk into a player`s room and ask him to hand over his phone, laptop or Ipad to check the communication and browsing records of the player. He can also check the social networking accounts of the player including Skype," the source said. He explained these measures had been taken to ensure transparency as far as the conduct of the players was concerned on tour. "The management will also purchase SIM cards on tour in bulk and distribute them to the players thus keeping a record of all the numbers and having the advantage of checking the phone records of any player," he said. He said the players had also been told strictly to declare all their cell phones, laptops and Ipads to the team management and vigilance officer on tour. "After the suspension and arrest of the three Indian players today in the IPL by the Delhi police on spot-fixing suspicions, the Pakistan team management will also be more alert in Scotland and especially when the players reach England," he said. PTI