On one side where Pakistan Super League is reaching its ending stage, were on the other side things got out of hand with Australian allrounder James Faulkner. Yesterday with the sudden departure of James Faulkner shocked everyone and created chaos all over the internet.
Faulkner claimed that he’s parting ways due to a contractual agreement concerning payments. He was representing Quetta Gladiators this season and majorly people are calling it his immature move.
Soon he decided to leave the team, he released various tweets explaining the whole scenario and apologized to the Pakistani cricket fans.
He fully blamed Pakistan Cricket Board and PSL for his withdrawal from the tournament. Even PCB also released strong statements in their defense and cleared the air.
James Faulkner left Pakistan Super League – Want to know why?
According to James, “I apologize to Pakistan Cricket fans. But unfortunately, I’ve had to withdraw from the last two matches and leave the @thePSLt20 due to @TheRealPCB not honoring my contractual agreement/payments,” he said on Twitter.
“I’ve been here the whole duration and they (the PCB) have continued to lie to me,” he said.
He further said, “it hurts to leave as I wanted to help to get international cricket back in Pakistan, as there is so much young talent and the fans are amazing.”
“But the treatment I have received has been a disgrace from the @TheRealPCB and @thePSLt20,” he said, expressing the hope that “you all understand my position”.
PCB’s rebellious response
In response, PCB also shared their stance. They have denied all the allegations put on by James Faulkner and labeled them as “false and misleading”. “The PCB and Quetta Gladiators have regretfully taken note of Mr. James Faulkner’s false and misleading accusations and will shortly be releasing a detailed statement on the matter,” said a tweet by the board.
Later, PCB and Quetta Gladiators have released a joint statement where they claimed that “Faulkner was guilty of misconduct and announced that he would be banned from future PSL drafts.”
The official statement posted on PCB’s website stated that “the allegations of non-payment and mistreatment of Faulkner were ‘baseless’ and pointed out that no player had ever complained about the non-fulfillment of the PCB’s contractual obligations in seven years of the PSL.”
Further said, “Faulkner’s agent had confirmed in December last year the details of a bank account in the United Kingdom (UK) for the transfer of payment.”
As per the PSL policy, all the players receive 70% amount the moment they sign the contract. That’s what happened with Faulkner as well. The 70% amount was transferred to his offshore bank account in the United Kingdom and the receipt of this payment was acknowledged by Faulkner, the statement added.
‘Faulkner threatened us’ – PCB
As per the further statements, “Accordingly, payments due to Mr. Faulkner as per his contract are fully up to date,” the PCB maintained in the statement.
It added that “the remaining 30 percent of his contractual payment only becomes due 40 days after the completion of the HBL Pakistan Super League 2022, which now remains a matter to be reviewed in line with his contract.”
“Despite the money being transferred and received in his account, Mr. Faulkner continued to insist that a second duplicate payment of the same amount be made to his account in Australia,” the board said. “This meant Mr. Faulkner would have been paid twice.”
The board also shared that, that Faulkner “threatened and refused” to participate in the match between Quetta Gladiators and Multan Sultans on Friday, “until his money demands were met”.
“The PCB, as a responsible organization, engaged with Mr. Faulkner early [on] Friday afternoon in an attempt to reason with him. Despite his reprehensible and insulting behavior during the conversation, Mr. Faulkner was assured that all his grievances would be addressed,” the board said.
However they tried to convince him, but Faulkner refused, “reconsider his decision to take the field in a crucial match for his side, let his team down and demanded that his travel arrangements be immediately made”.
“During this time, the PCB was also in constant contact with his agent, who was regretful and apologetic.”
On Saturday morning, Faulkner also damaged the hotel’s property, “caused deliberate damage to the hotel property and as a result, had to pay damages to the hotel management”.
“The PCB later also received reports and complaints from the immigration authorities that Mr. Faulkner had acted inappropriately and abusively at the airport,” the board added.
No entry for Mr. Faulkner – PCB
After all of this, PCB officially announced that “In wake of the above, and taking serious note of Mr. James Faulkner’s gross misconduct that was an attempt to bring the PCB.
Pakistan cricket and the HBL Pakistan Super League into disrepute, it has been unanimously agreed by the PCB and the franchises that Mr. James Faulkner will not be drafted in future HBL Pakistan Super League events.
But who’s going to replace Faulkner, although the board and authorities didn’t wait long to find the replacement. 18-year-old Mohammad Shehzad has been named as James Faulkner’s replacement for the remainder of the HBL PSL.
No doubt, it’s going to create a big impact on Pakistan vs Australia series because it all looked like some publicity stunt to showcase PCB a negative side. Pakistan Super League has been one of the most-watched and famous leagues in the world of cricket. Soon the schedule was announced, people have buckled up to support their team.
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