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Islamabad - Captain Shahid Afridi has been summoned to appear at a disciplinary hearing next Wednesday to answer a misconduct charge by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
A day after pleading guilty to violating the code of conduct with his criticism of the PCB leadership, Afridi was informed by the PCB on Thursday that Sultan Rana, director of domestic cricket, will head the three-man judicial committee including former Test cricketer Shafiq Ahmed and Usman Wahla, manager of international cricket.
If the committee decides to take any action, the PCB said Afridi can appeal.
"I think people need to understand that this is purely a disciplinary issue," PCB chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed said in a statement.
"We will ensure that Shahid is given every opportunity to express and defend himself and as such the disciplinary process has been clearly spelt out to avoid any ambiguities."
Afridi recently returned from the West Indies, where he led Pakistan to a one-day series victory, frustrated that the PCB had made an issue of the captaincy, saying he'd been "humiliated" by a board of "dishonorable people." The World Cup captain, playing for Pakistan for 15 years, announced his conditional retirement from international cricket on Monday. He said he'd change his mind if the PCB leadership changed.
The PCB responded by suspending Afridi's national team contract and revoking all of the No Objection Certificates which allow him to play overseas. That immediately prevented him from representing Hampshire in the English Twenty20 championship, which started this week.
Hampshire said in a statement it respected PCB's decision, but urged a rethink.
"We are keen to have Shahid playing for the Royals at some point in the season," Hampshire said.
Also on Thursday, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik urged Afridi, one of Pakistan's greatest limited-overs players, to reverse his decision to retire.
"I will do whatever I can to resolve this issue, as I am equally a fan of Afridi," Malik tweeted. "I hope to give u some good news in the future."
Malik's influence upon national team players was illustrated last month when he convinced Zulqarnain Haider to end his exile in Britain after the wicketkeeper fled the team last November in the United Arab Emirates, citing death threats from match-fixers.
