Pakistan could charge Haider

Karachi - Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider could face disciplinary charges for fleeing the team hotel in Dubai and seeking asylum in Britain after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) set up a panel to probe the case.

"We can confirm receipt of response from Zulqarnain Haider and in accordance with our code of disciplinary proceedings we have formed a three-member committee to look into the matter," the PCB said in a statement on Tuesday.

Haider, who ran away last November during a one-day series against South Africa saying he had received death threats for refusing to take part in match fixing, returned home last month.

The 25-year-old had applied for asylum in Britain but after a meeting with Pakistan's interior minister, Rehman Malik, he agreed to return home and withdrew his application with the British Home Office.

A source close to the matter said Haider had told the PCB that he did not inform the team management in Dubai about his plans to flee because he did not have any trust or confidence in them.

A PCB official said the disciplinary committee would now decide the fate of the keeper who has reversed his retirement decision and wants to play for Pakistan again.