Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan Blocked from President’s Trophy Amid Investigation
Two of Pakistan’s most senior cricketers, Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan, have been blocked from taking part in the domestic President’s Trophy Grade-I just as the first-class season is about to get underway.
The decision lands on the eve of the competition, which begins Saturday across four venues, and comes with both players already under the cloud of a formal cyber-crime investigation.
Dressing-room leak probe engulfs senior duo
Pakistan’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) questioned Imam and Rizwan in Lahore on Thursday after a complaint lodged by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The case centres on alleged leaks of information from the national team dressing room during Pakistan’s recent Test tour of England.
Both men had already been recalled from that tour, part of a group of seven players sent home after defeats in the first two Tests of the three-match series. Five were dropped purely on cricketing grounds. Imam and Rizwan were different: the PCB made it clear an internal investigation into the pair was under way.
That internal process has now spilled directly into domestic cricket. Until the probe is completed, the board has barred the two from turning out in the President’s Trophy.
Four-hour grilling and phones seized
Details emerging from Thursday’s questioning underline the seriousness of the case. According to Dawn, Imam and Rizwan were summoned to the NCCIA office in Lahore and interviewed for roughly four hours.
Investigators already have the players’ mobile phones, which, the report states, can be sent for forensic examination. The cricketers, for their part, have asked for more time to submit written explanations, an indication that their side of the story will come in carefully prepared form rather than off-the-cuff remarks.
For now, the process remains behind closed doors. There are no public charges, only an ongoing inquiry and a firm PCB stance: no domestic cricket until the matter is resolved.
President’s Trophy plans derailed
On the field, the timing is brutal.
Imam had been appointed captain of the Oil and Gas Development Company side for the President’s Trophy, a role that would have given the left-hander a chance to reassert his authority after a turbulent Test tour. Rizwan, Pakistan’s established wicketkeeper-batter, had been named vice-captain for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines.
Even without the ban, though, neither man was likely to feature in the opening round. Sources quoted by Dawn say both had missed the mandatory fitness testing required before the start of the competition, which would have ruled them out of the first set of fixtures regardless.
Now the question is not when they start their domestic campaigns, but when – or if – they will be cleared to play at all.
Questions over Lord’s and beyond
The scrutiny on Imam goes beyond the alleged leak. National selector and PCB director of high performance Aaqib Javed has already confirmed that Imam’s conduct during the second Test at Lord’s will also be examined. The opener did not come out to bat in either innings of that match, which Pakistan lost by 194 runs.
In isolation, that might have been a footnote in a grim tour. Against the backdrop of a cyber-crime investigation and a dressing-room leak probe, it now sits as another line in a growing file.
For Pakistan, this is no longer just about two players missing a domestic tournament. It cuts to the heart of trust inside the national setup: who hears what in the dressing room, who shares it, and where the boundaries of modern player behaviour must be drawn in an era where every message can be traced.
