Mohammad Irfan snubbed from the National training camp for suspicious conduct

Pakistan Left-arm pacer Mohammad Irfan still finds himself in trouble as the bowler did not receive a call-up to the National training camp ahead of the One Day International series against the West Indies. The 7 feet tall cricketer’s conduct in the Pakistan Super League was much of a talking point and still remains under scrutiny.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) launched a list of 31 players on Thursday who are set to attend a training camp in Lahore for a whole week. Unfortunately, Irfan did not find a place in the list despite being a regular member of the national One Day and T20 squads, when fit.

“The selectors did not get clearance from the Board to consider Irfan for the coming tour so they did not pick him,” a source close to the national selection committee told PTI.

According to the PCB the 34-year-old Irfan was also approached by some bookmaker during the Pakistan Super League in Dubai. The bookmaker is also known to have strong contact with Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif.

PSL Chairman Najam Sethi also voiced his opinion on the matter saying the Mohammad Irfan was reached with spot fixing offers four or five times but the bowler was reluctant to report it to the PCB’S ACU.

“The PCB allowed him to play in the PSL giving him the benefit of the doubt while sending Sharjeel and Khalid back last month as there was no evidence of Irfan having accepted any offer. But now that he is back in Lahore the ACU are investigating him closely which is why he has not been cleared for the West Indies tour,” a PCB insider said.

Sharjeel and Khalid were immediately suspended for breaching the PSL’s anti-corruption code and sent back home. They have denied any wrongdoing and are now preparing to plead their innocence before a three-member tribunal appointed by the Board to probe the case.

The insider said the Board did not want to take any chances with Irfan which is why they had asked the selectors to ignore him for the time being.

Mohammad Irfan has been an integral part of the Pakistan ODI and T20 squads with 83 wickets to his name in the 50 over format of the game. He has also featured in 20 T20 matches for the national side taking 15 wickets.

Wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan is another familiar name who misses out from the National Training Camp.