 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Pakistan's Twenty20 cricket captain Shahid Afridi on Monday hoped that his beleaguered team-mate Shoaib Malik would tide over the legal storm caused by a past affair gone wrong and bring his bride home.
"Since he has gone to India he must now bring his bride home," Afridi said.
Malik is in a legal mess in Hyderabad after his alleged first wife Ayesha Siddiqui filed an FIR against him for trying to marry Indian tennis star Sania Mirza without taking a formal divorce.
Shoaib's passport has been seized and the Hyderabad police questioned him for close to two hours on Monday.
Afridi, who is dealing with his own share of problems after being slapped with a Rs 3 million fine by the Pakistan Cricket Board for indiscipline and ball-tampering, said he would not be hiring a lawyer to fight his case or file an appeal against the punishment.
"I don't want to make an issue of this fine and I will try to resolve it myself. I don't want to get involved in hiring any lawyer as it will only complicate matters," he said.
The Pakistani captain said he had only asked the board to clarify how they could fine him for an offence for which he had already got punishment from the ICC match referee.
"If I am satisfied with their answer I will not pursue this case any further," he said.
"The board has taken its decision, some players have been banned and some have been fined but I have told the players they must get over this phase and focus on doing well in the Twenty20 World Cup where we have to defend our title," Afridi added.
He also rejected suggestions that the punishments handed out to the players would have a negative effect on their performance.
"We are all professionals and we are supposed to perform for our country and we need to overcome these pressures and fight on," he said.