Haider Ali has been suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) while the middle-order batter is undergoing criminal investigation in England. The 24-year-old was arrested by the Greater Manchester Police in Hove. Haider was representing Pakistan Shaheens in a one-day match at Beckenheim on August 3.
Haider, who was later released on bail, as per Cricbuzz, was arrested in relation to an alleged case of sexual molestation. The PCB recently released a statement regarding the developments and following enough conviction, the board has now taken a concrete stance on the incident involving the young cricketer.
“The investigation pertains to an incident that reportedly occurred during the Pakistan Shaheens’ recent tour of England. In line with its duty of care and responsibility to ensure the welfare and legal rights of all its players, the PCB has ensured that Haider Ali has received appropriate legal support to protect his rights throughout this process,” stated PCB, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
The PCB also commented that the provisional suspension will run till the time any substantial outcome is generated with respect to the case.
“The PCB fully respects the legal procedures and processes of the United Kingdom and acknowledges the importance of allowing the investigation to run its due course. Accordingly, the PCB has decided to place Haider Ali under provisional suspension, effective immediately, pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation,” the board’s statement read further.
Haider, who was representing the Shaheens on their tour of England, registered scores of 0 and 17 against First Class Counties XI and 1 against MCC Young Cricketers and South Asian Cricket Academy XI in the couple of red-ball games, respectively. He scored much better in the preceding List A games with scores of 71, 15 and 55* against FCC XI.
Haider has played two ODIs and 35 T20Is for Pakistan up until now, scoring 42 and 505 runs in the formats, respectively. The last time he represented the senior men’s team was way back in October 2023.