PCB fines Pakistan players following T20 World Cup exit

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) fined all Pakistan squad members from the T20 World Cup PKR 5 million (US$ 18,000 approx.) each following their underwhelming campaign.

Pakistan were eliminated after the Super Eight stage, missing the semi-finals of an ICC men's event for the fourth successive time - the first such instance in Pakistan's history.

The fines are not for disciplinary reasons, but specifically for what the board deems poor performance at the event, according to an ESPNcricinfo report on Monday.The fines were imposed immediately following Pakistan's match against India in the group stages, where a meek showing resulted in a 61-run defeat. They were further told the fines might be waived if Pakistan reached the tournament semi-finals.

Pakistan reached the second round, avoiding a third straight first-round exit, but ran into trouble in the Super Eight group after a washout against New Zealand was followed by defeat to England. New Zealand's crushing win over Sri Lanka left Pakistan relying on other results and a huge victory over Sri Lanka to sneak into the last four. However, their win against Sri Lanka was much too narrow to prevent an early exit.

The PCB has disciplined players harshly in the past, though sanctions have generally been framed as disciplinary. ESPNcricinfo learned there were no disciplinary issues within the team throughout the tournament, and the fines were levied specifically for the quality of their on-field performances. That makes the sanctions handed out by the PCB particularly rare, and potentially unprecedented.

The current PCB administration, though, does have a history of imposing punishments following disappointments at major tournaments. Five months earlier, following a narrow defeat to India in the Asia Cup final, the PCB had briefly suspended all No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) issued to players that would have allowed them to take part in T20 leagues through the winter. That suspension, though, was lifted soon after as some of the top players headed to Australia for the BBL.

While the fines will be imposed on all players, Pakistan did have players who enjoyed individual success at the tournament. Sahibzada Farhan broke the record for most runs at a T20 World Cup, and became the only player to score two hundreds at the same event.