Raza spared over Qalandars security breach

ZIMBABWE T20 cricket captain, Sikandar Raza escaped punishment from authorities at the Lahore Qalandars following an incident at his Pakistan franchise’s team hotel on Sunday. Lahore Qalandars have fined Shaheen Shah Afridi PKR 1 million (approx. US$3600) following the incident that saw the Punjab police accuse him of violating security protocols at the team hotel.

In a statement, Qalandars said they had imposed the fine on their captain to “maintain discipline and impose accountability”. There will be no action taken against Raza, who was also accused by the police of violating the same protocols. At a press conference, Raza said he took responsibility for the incident and attempted to exonerate Afridi from blame.

It accused Qalandars, Afridi and Raza’s team, of violating security protocols, alleging that, despite being refused permission to receive visitors in Raza’s room by both the PCB’s security and anti-corruption manager as well as Naseer, Afridi and Raza took people up to the player’s room. Despite Raza saying they stayed in his room for 40 minutes, the letter claims they spent approximately three hours there. Qalandars accepted the broader details of the incident, but the statement said it had been “overstated in public discourse, amplified beyond its original context”, and was “unnecessarily escalated”.

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“While underscoring that the matter arose from a misunderstanding rather than any deliberate attempt to violate established procedures, Lahore Qalandars reiterated its full respect for all security protocols,” the statement said. “The organisation reaffirmed its commitment to strict adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs) and emphasised the importance of continued clarity and alignment in the communication of protocols to prevent similar situations in the future.” -ESPN CricInfo/Sports Reporter.

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