Karachi: Suspended Pakistan cricket star Shahid Afridi on Tuesday filed a petition in court demanding that sanctions imposed on him by the Pakistan Cricket Board be overthrown and calling for justice.
A long running slanging match between Afridi and Pakistani managers has rocked the game, still reeling from the aftermath of a spot-fixing scandal which ended in lengthy bans on Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer.
Afridi took legal action after announcing his retirement from international cricket to protest against being replaced as one-day captain last month.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Afridi breached a code of conduct by announcing his retirement and levelling allegations against the Board.
The PCB suspended his central contract, revoked all his no-objection certificates which would have allowed him to play in England and Sri Lanka and served him with a show-cause notice last week.
They also formed a three-man disciplinary committee before which Afridi was summoned to appear on Wednesday.
“I have taken a plea that the show-cause notice served on me is illegal and the ban on me playing abroad should be lifted and I hope justice will be done,” Afridi told AFP after filing the petition in the southern province Sindh.
The court swiftly ordered the PCB to adjourn the disciplinary committee meeting and summoned PCB officials to appear in court on Thursday.
The 31-year-old former one-day captain is the latest in a series of Pakistani cricketers to launch legal battles against the country’s cricket authorities. (AFP)