Latif takes PCB to court

Rashid Latif has sent a legal notice to the PCB to contest the six-month ban imposed on him by Shaharyar Khan, the board's chairman, for forfeiting a domestic game due to an unfit pitch. In a statement released by his lawyer, Justice Malik Qayyum, Latif said, "I have just sent them [the PCB] a legal notice asking them to withdraw the suspension and fine order. I do not, as a first resort, want to drag the PCB to court as I have dutifully served them. But if I am forced to then I will have to."

The chances of legal action being initiated remain high, as Latif has ruled out going to the appeals committee that Shaharyar had set up to hear the case. Latif told Cricinfo: "I am not going to appeal, especially in this ad hoc setup. This tussle with the board has been going on for a year now, but I think legally this time, they have acted incorrectly. I want to have this ban removed legally because the procedure the PCB undertook is illegal. I will argue that the ban is illegal."

Latif was leading the Karachi Blues in a Quaid-i-Azam trophy match against Faisalabad last week when he declared with his side tottering at 33 for 4, forfeiting the game. The decision to ban Latif alone, and not throw the team out of the tournament - as is required by domestic regulations - has been widely criticised for its arbitrary and unilateral nature. Some ex-cricketers and journalists have suggested the decision to ban him was part of a wider PCB agenda to banish the outspoken Latif - a constant thorn in the board's side - from Pakistan cricket.

The legal notice probably scuppers any chance of a meeting between Shaharyar Khan and Latif. Over the last few days, newspaper reports had suggested that there might be a meeting to try to resolve the matter. Earlier, speaking to Cricinfo, Abbas Zaidi, the director of the PCB's media arm, had reiterated: "If Rashid Latif wants to see the chairman and explain his position, he is most welcome, anytime, to do so."

When asked whether Latif's views should have been sought before the punishment was handed out, Zaidi replied, "We looked at the views of the umpires and the referees, not the captain. The captain is nobody to decide on this. The point is that Latif had access to the umpires and the referee, yet he still chose to take a unilateral decision. He could have called the chairman then and it would have been fine, but you can't jeopardise domestic cricket by refusing to play at your own whim. He now has the chance to appeal to the appeals committee or he can come and explain his case to the chairman. We hold no grudge against him."

According to sources in the PCB, there has been extensive correspondence between Latif and Shaharyar on the issue. While Latif accepted the decision he made violated the regulations, he argued that he deserved at least the right to explain his case before any punishment was handed out: "In the current case I have been banned without being even asked as to why I took the decision. The natural course of justice was not followed before the penalty was slapped on me. One could have asked for my viewpoint. In addition, my viewpoint was not something out of the ordinary. Several games this season part of the same tournament have either been relocated or postponed due to below-standard or dangerous playing conditions. [With] such background I at the very least deserved a chance to be asked to explain and justify the reasons for my action."

He also hinted that the PCB was working to a pre-ordained agenda to oust him from Pakistan cricket, although Shaharyar has denied this. He stood by his decision for imposing the ban, arguing that a team ban would have been too harsh, but said that he would meet him personally if Latif wanted to.

But Zaidi also said there was little chance that Shaharyar would reconsider his decision to overturn the ban: "I don't think there is any question of changing the punishment or the ban now. The chairman is the person who has imposed the penalty so he can't be the appellate authority." In view of this and the ad-hoc nature of the appeals committee, it is perhaps not surprising that Latif turned to unprecedented legal action to save his career.