Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan Barred from President’s Trophy Amid Cyber-Crime Investigation
Two of Pakistan’s most prominent cricketers, Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan, have been barred from taking part in the President’s Trophy Grade-I first-class tournament as a cyber-crime investigation tightens around them.
The competition begins on Saturday across four venues. Neither man will be involved until a probe into alleged dressing-room information leaks from Pakistan’s Test tour of England runs its course.
Cyber-crime investigators step in
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) questioned Imam and Rizwan in Lahore on Thursday after a complaint from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Investigators are examining whether confidential information from the national team’s dressing room was passed on during the recent three-Test series in England.
Both players had already felt the fallout from that tour. After defeats in the first two Tests, Pakistan recalled seven players from the squad. Five were dropped for cricketing reasons. Imam and Rizwan were pulled out under the shadow of an internal PCB investigation.
The case has now moved beyond cricketing corridors.
According to Dawn, the pair spent around four hours at the NCCIA office, where they were formally questioned. They informed officials that their mobile phones were already in the agency’s custody and could be sent for forensic analysis. They also asked for more time to file detailed written explanations.
Domestic plans on hold
The disciplinary cloud arrives just as the domestic season was about to give both men a platform to reset.
Imam had been named captain of Oil and Gas Development Company, while Rizwan was set to act as vice-captain for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines in the President’s Trophy. On paper, it looked like a chance to regain rhythm and authority in the longer format.
Reality cut in sharply.
Sources quoted by Dawn indicated that, even without the ban, neither player would have featured in the opening round because they had not completed mandatory fitness testing before the start of the competition. Now, their absence is guaranteed until investigators clear them or the PCB takes further action.
Questions beyond the dressing room
The scrutiny around Imam runs deeper than the alleged leak. National selector and PCB director of high performance Aaqib Javed has already flagged that Imam will be investigated for not batting in either innings of the second Test against England at Lord’s, a match Pakistan lost by 194 runs.
That decision, unusual in a high-stakes Test, has become part of a broader line of inquiry into conduct and discipline on tour.
What began as a disappointing series in England has turned into a full-blown integrity test at home. With phones in the hands of cyber-crime specialists and two senior players frozen out of first-class cricket, Pakistan’s dressing room is now under a harsher spotlight than any they faced under the grey skies of an English summer.
