The PCB has barred its contracted players from using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter during series in the aftermath of the Zulqarnain Haider controversy. The Pakistan wicketkeeper fled the UAE, where his team was involved in a series against South Africa, to seek asylum in the UK last month and, though largely untraceable, kept the public informed of his news through updates on his Facebook page.
"The measure is for the players' safety. They are prone to danger if the wrong person gets access to their information, whereabouts and so on," team manager Intikhab Alam was quoted as saying by Pakistan's Express Tribune. "Therefore, the PCB has finalised the policy and banned the use of all social networking websites during ongoing series, while also advising them to keep their activity minimum when they are not playing."
The PCB said the measure had been incorporated in its revised code of conduct for players. "There is a clause in their contracts which states clearly that they can't use these social network sites or discuss cricket issues while under contract. It is for their own good, so that they don't get entangled into controversies."
The board also threatened legal action against those putting up fake accounts of players on social networking websites. "There are many accounts that are not operated by the players," the PCB's legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi said. "Fake ones operated by other people are a hazard. These people are liable to face charges of cyber crime and fraud. So my advice to them is to be careful, otherwise they can be prosecuted."
Concern over the use of such websites by players has not been confined to the PCB. Kevin Pietersen's outburst on Twitter over his exclusion from the limited-overs side in August resulted in the ECB introducing specific regulations for micro-blogging. And Allrounder Dimitri Mascarenhas was banned by the ECB for two weeks following his foul-mouthed messages against national selector Geoff Miller.
