Pakistan Star Mohammad Rizwan Takes Big Step As Investigation Drama Deepens
Mohammad Rizwan has written a letter to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, seeking the return of his phone and specifying the nature of the inquiry against him.
Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Rizwan has written a letter to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), seeking the return of his phone and specifying the nature of the inquiry against him in the fallout of Pakistan's defeat to England in the Lord's Test. Rizwan's phone was taken away from him on August 31, a day after Pakistan's 194-run defeat to England at Lord's, as the visitors kept misfiring with the bat. He claimed that he was told that the device would be returned to him after three hours, which has not been the case so far.
As per Cricinfo, Rizwan has now written an official letter to the NCCIA, urging the probe body to comply with the Lahore High Court's latest order. The letter came two weeks after his petition challenging the NCCIA's authority to investigate the matter.
The court dismissed the plea, asking the cricketer to cooperate with the agency in the matter, but also instructed the probe agency not to subject Rizwan to "harassment or unnecessary inconvenience". The court had permitted the Pakistan wicketkeeper to approach a court seeking recovery of his mobile phone, for which he had provided the password.
In his letter, Rizwan asked the agency to identify the specific incident it was probing and to inform him when he would be required to appear before the agency for questioning.
The letter stated that the agency has not contacted Rizwan regarding the return of his phone, adding that surrendering his phone itself amounted to cooperation with the inquiry.
Earlier this month, Rizwan and Imam-ul-Haq appeared before the NCCIA in Lahore regarding alleged leaks of information from the team's dressing room. Imam completed his response to the questionnaire, while Rizwan chose to take the matter to court.
The fallout continues after Pakistan's poor performance in England, where they suffered their first-ever 0-3 defeat on English soil. The PCB sent Rizwan, Imam and five other cricketers home after the second Test defeat.
The PCB reportedly handed the mobile phones of the two players, along with those of five other players from Pakistan's squad for the England Test series, to the relevant authorities following their removal from the squad.
According to a report in Pakistan-based The News International, the NCCIA examined financial matters and suspected transactions involving the two players. Investigators probed the players' financial dealings before and during the ongoing Test series, and their bank account details are also under scrutiny.
The investigators were also reviewing bank account transactions during this period and, if any suspicious transactions are found, will look into the source of the funds.
Rizwan and Imam were among the seven players released from the squad after the disastrous first two Test matches of the three-match series against England. Those seven players were sent home, and the Pakistan Cricket Board brought in seven other players to the squad before later beginning an "internal disciplinary inquiry."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan Cricket Team