Pakistan hand Younis and Yousuf life bans

Draconian punishment for 'infighting' in Australia causes uproar ahead of England tour

In sweeping, characteristically bizarre fashion, Pakistan set out to reform its cricket team yesterday by taking punitive action against leading players. Their two most recent captains and most accomplished batsmen, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan, were effectively banned for life from representing the country again.

Two others, Rana Naved and Shoaib Malik, were banned for a year and three others, Shahid Afridi, and the brothers Kamal and Umar Akmal, were fined between two and three million rand for different transgressions. The action casts a large shadow over the composition and mood of the team which is due to tour England this summer for six Test matches, four against England and two against Australia.

No international cricket is likely to be played in Pakistan for the foreseeable future because of political instability. A halt was brought after the Sri Lanka cricket team was shot at in Lahore last year. Seven policemen were killed in the attack.

Somehow the Pakistan cricket team has survived but it has been a near thing. Player power has been rife and insurrection has never been far away. At the root of yesterday's action was Pakistan's recent tour of Australia, where the team contrived to lose all nine international matches: three Test matches, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 contest.

Although there were defeats aplenty to come, the nadir probably arrived in the second Test in Sydney where, after leading by 206 runs on first innings, Pakistan somehow lost by 36 runs. The team was clearly in disarray throughout the tour.

Younis resigned the captaincy not long before the tour because of player unrest and when he eventually turned up for the limited-overs matches he made 23 runs in four innings. Yousuf, not long ago ranked the No 1 Test batsman (he is now 12th), did not appear cut out for the leadership and it was obvious to observers that there was a split.

The announcements yesterday by the Pakistan Cricket Board, whose head is the former Test batsman Ijaz Butt, were, however, unexpectedly dramatic. So severe was the action that it was possible to think that match-rigging was involved or suspected. But it seems that mere turbulence has caused the draconian response.

Given past form, there is plenty of time for the PCB to retract. Mohammad Asif, a proven drug-taker, is still playing after having his sentence reduced. Various alleged match-fixers from the 1990s have been quietly rehabilitated.

It was generally anticipated that Shahid Afridi would face board action after biting a ball to try to change its condition in the one-dayer at Perth. It was the strangest, most blatant attempt at tampering in the history of the game. He was fined R3m (£23,800). Nor were the fines and warnings imposed on the talented but bumptious Akmal brothers entirely unexpected. Kamran, the elder, was fined R3m and Umar R2m (£15,400).

To end the careers of the men who still shore up the middle order and will be badly missed in English conditions this summer could not be seen coming. True, the two have been at loggerheads, and have been spoilt, selfish, petulant and illogical, but they remain great talents. Last June Younis led Pakistan to the World Twenty20 title in England, one they are defending in the West Indies in May.

The official statement said: "Keeping in view their infighting which resulted in bringing down the whole team, their attitude has a trickledown effect which is a bad influence for the whole team and should not be part of the national team in any format."

The great and the good of Pakistani cricket were quick to respond to the bans. Zaheer Abbas, a former captain, said: "Younis and Yousuf should go to court to challenge the decision. This is not a good decision for Pakistan cricket. The board is not setting a good example before young cricketers."

Inzamam ul Haq, another former captain, asked: "Why was action not taken earlier against these players? Why did the board keep quiet for so long when the team was on tour?"

The board has left itself with little room for manoeuvre but the chances are that it will be outmanoeuvred itself. Cricket remains one of the solaces of life of in Pakistan and government intervention cannot be ruled out. Expect the players to return and the board to go.