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The 50% match fee sanction that the Pakistan Cricket
Board had levied against Azam Khan for wearing the Palestine flag on his bat
during the current National T20 Cup in Karachi has been waived.
Azam, who represents Karachi Whites in the
competition, refused to take off the Palestine flag decal from his bat during
the game against Lahore Blues, and as a result, the PCB match referee on Sunday
fined him 50% of his match money. The wicketkeeper-batter was judged to have
repeatedly disregarded an umpire’s command or directive during a match, in
violation of Article 2.4 of the PCB Code of Conduct.
“Azam Khan’s 50 per cent fine imposed by match
officials has been reviewed and waived off by the Pakistan Cricket Board,”
the PCB said in a release.
“The Karachi Whites wicketkeeper-batter was fined
50 per cent of his match fee for being found guilty of committing a level-1
offence during his side’s National T20 Cup 2023-24 match against Lahore Blues
at National Bank Stadium, Karachi.”
Players and team officials are prohibited by ICC
regulations from wearing, displaying, or otherwise communicating personal
messages on their equipment unless they have received prior consent from both
the PCB’s cricket operations department and their own cricket organisation.
Azam has played in five Twenty20 Internationals for
Pakistan, including two against Afghanistan earlier this year. He is a regular
on franchise cricket circuits throughout the world and is well-known for his
devastating hitting in Twenty20 cricket.