Mohammad Rizwan will captain Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) in the seventh and final round of the first-class President’s Trophy, which starts on Monday, October 19.
Rizwan’s will make his debut appearance in the tournament, which began last month, after being judged ineligible to compete due to, according to a PCB source, a “failure to appear in the pre-season fitness test”. However, it was later revealed that he had been denied permission to participate in the tournament due to an ongoing investigation by the country’s cybercrime agency (NCCIA).
According to Cricinfo, Rizwan will represent Peshawar in next month’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
The wicketkeeper-batsman has been summoned twice by the NCCIA since returning to Pakistan following the Lord’s Test in August, with the agency conducting an investigation into online betting and gambling in Pakistan cricket. After his first appearance at the NCCIA’s office in Lahore, Rizwan filed a petition in the Lahore High Court challenging the agency’s investigation and requesting the return of his mobile phone. The judge rejected his petition.
Before his next appearance at the NCCIA’s Lahore office at the beginning of this month, Mohammad wrote to the agency, requesting an explanation for why he was being investigated.
Along with Mohammad , Imam-ul-Haq is being examined by the NCCIA, and his cell phone is still in their possession. While Rizwan chose to go to court and contest the agency’s actions, Imam, who, like Rizwan, had been denied permission to play in the President’s Trophy, has kept silent on the issue. The PCB has not approved his participation as of the time this piece was filed.
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Mohammad comeback is likely to provide SNGPL a much-needed lift, since they are on the verge of relegation. The last year’s competition finalists sit at the bottom of the eight-team table, having drawn five and lost one of their six matches. In the final round, they will face Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), who finished third, in Rawalpindi’s Shoaib Akhtar Stadium.
