Karachi: Former captain Salim Malik cannot take up any cricket activities in the country despite a lower court overturning the life ban imposed on him on charges of corrupt practices as the ICC and the PCB are yet to clear him, according to sources.
According to a reliable source in the Pakistan Cricket Board, Malik has still not responded to a notice issued to him in 2013 over the nature of a couple of meetings he had after he was banned for life for match-fixing in 2000.
“Malik, to date, has not responded to the notice and that is why the PCB and ICC are not willing to give any clear statement on why Malik is not allowed to engage in any cricket activities,” the source said on conditions of anonymity.
“After the board banned him for life in 2000 on the recommendations of Justice (retd) Qayyum judicial commission, Malik had some meetings in the UK the transcripts of which were obtained by the ICC and which raised doubts over the purpose of these meetings.”
The source said after Malik applied for permission to work as a batting consultant at the National Cricket Academy in 2010-11, the Board had than issued him a notice to first explain the nature of his meetings in the UK and also sent the transcripts to him.
The source also said it was correct Malik got the life ban decision overturned in a district and sessions court in Lahore in 2008 and the PCB also did not bother to challenge it in a higher court.
“The Board, with change of management, took it easy on Malik after the decision by the lower court but when the ICC brought the matter of the meetings to their notice, he is again persona non grata in Pakistan cricket circles,” the source said.
Malik, now 57, represented Pakistan in 103 Tests and 283 ODIs and is considered one of the finest batsmen ever produced by Pakistan.
But in 2000, after three years of investigation, the Justice Qayyum Commission in its report on allegations of match fixing by Pakistan team players recommended a life on on Malik.
Malik, in a statement on Wednesday, questioned why he has not been given clearance to engage in coaching activities for a livelihood when the board can allow other players charged with corruption cases like Muhammad Aamir or Sharjeel Khan back in cricket.
