Rana Naved hits back at charges of ball tampering
Pakistan all-rounder Rana Naved has hit back at the Karachi City Cricket Association for accusing him of ball-tampering during the ongoing national Twenty20 championship.
The KCCA has sent a complaint letter to the Chairman of the Pakistan cricket Board (PCB) outlining its concerns over some poor umpiring and Rana’s tampering with the ball with his nails during a match between Sialkot Stallions and Karachi Zebras at the National stadium.
The KCCA has called for an impartial inquiry into the issues they have raised after Sialkot beat Karachi Zebras by four runs in a match on February 28 and were knocked out of contention for semifinals.
“I don’t know from where they got this notion that I was tampering with the ball. I play my cricket as fair as everyone else,” Rana said. “I think it would be better for the KCCA to concentrate on their own affairs and selection matters. They should focus on selecting their best team,” he said.
Rana said he viewed the KCCA complaint as a case of sour grapes as their team had lost the match to Sialkot.
The head of domestic cricket operations, Sultan Rana also confirmed that the KCCA had sent a letter to the board chairman.
Butt’s clarification
PCB chairman Ejaz Butt, meanwhile, has claimed that he was talking about former captain Salim Malik and fast bowler Ata-ur-Rehman when mentioned two national team members being involved in match-fixing recently.
Butt’s statement, made at a press conference, about the two players caused a furore as he gave the impression that he was talking about two current players. Butt told a hearing of the National Assembly standing committee on sports that he had referred to Malik and Rehman when a question was posed to him on the match-fixing issue.
He said it was unfortunate Kamran Akmal and Rana Naved were mentioned by the media in the match-fixing scandal.
