- T20 World Cup 2024: Threat Looms over West Indies and USA as Hosts for the Cup - June 7, 2023
- Runners Up of the Junior Hockey Asia Cup are not Paid by PHF due to Insufficient Funds - June 5, 2023
- Pakistan tour of Australia: Men in green gear to level things up for the Benaud-Qadir Trophy - May 18, 2023
The whole James Faulkner fiasco, if anything else, has brought a lot of joy to the trolls across the border. This isn’t something new as they are always in search of something that would tarnish the image of the league. Season upon season, the mockers hope they find enough fodder to feed their inner egos and prejudices and this time they just got lucky. But one gotta feel bad for them. It took them seven years to find something substantial only to discover the allegations totally baseless and the man involved carrying a history of doing con acts.
The PCB’s stance
Within an hour of the lies fed by James Faulkner, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) issued a statement clearly refuting the allegations levied by the overseas player. There was no second opinion on the matter and all the events starting from the contract agreement in December to the unnecessary demands just before the cricketer left were shared by the board. Had there been any inconsistencies on PCB’s part there would be unclear statements. Here is what the statements said
James Faulkner’s problematic behaviour
On the day Faulkner caused chaos in the hotel in Lahore, he was very much drunk and in his drunkenness, he destroyed the hotel’s property. He threw off his belongings and later went on to misbehave with the airport officials. Turns out, his alcohol problems are not new.
Drinking problems have landed him in trouble beforehand. In 2015, the all-rounder was involved in a mini car crash in Manchester. On investigation, the cricketer had permissible blood alcohol way above the limit. He was fined, handed a two-year ban from driving by the court and suspended for four ODI games against England by Cricket Australia. You can read what Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza opens up on Faulkner vs PCB controversy
The Aussie claimed contractual issues with PCB as his reason for leaving PSL. He vocalized the lack of payment by the board was disappointing. Wanting double the amount, the Quetta player left when his wish was not granted despite an early agreement. And again it’s not the first time he’s had issues with money and contract.
In September last year, Faulkner said he felt ‘disrespected’ with the contract the Hobart Hurricanes handed him for Big Bash 11. He was not satisfied with his contract and said that it did not pay him enough. He left the franchise and did not participate in the league at all.
He has also been involved in bad-mouthing incidents. In 2014, the then 23-year-old vocalized not liking the West Indies team. Before Australia was to play a fixture against the Caribbean team in T20 World Cup the cricketer said he does not like playing the West Indians. He said he’d like to ‘beat’ and ‘knock-off’ certain players. He was also fined 10% of the fee for giving him a strong verbal send-off in 2013.
IPL’s history of inconsistencies
It’s easy to beat drums at the problems of others but how about a little introspection. The issue of non-payment is not new in India’s version of franchise cricket. While the Faulkner allegations were proved wrong there and then, the truth of delayed/non-payment still holds true for many players in IPL.
Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore and former franchise Kochi Tuskers are all guilty of holding-back payments of players. While DC and RCB did pay the players after much backlash, the Tuskers still owe big names their money. Read the details of these events.
The IPL recently came under fire when team India was seen under-performing in the T20I World Cup. they suffered two back-to-back defeats and the cricket fraternity was unimpressed.
In January, Pakistan’s former coach Mickey Arthur suggested that England players skip IPL rather focus on red-ball cricket. Notably, Joe Root and Ben Stokes withdrew their names from the draft following their nasty 0-4 defeat in the ashes this year.
All in all, no matter how Mr. James Faulkner tries to defame the league by sugar coating it with claims of revising cricket in Pakistan, all the fingers still point towards him. The PSL has only gotten bigger and better with time and has played a crucial role in polishing and enhancing young talent not only from Pakistan but from overseas as well. Many international players found themselves a spot in their national teams as a result of showcasing their skills in the Pakistan league. So to all the trolls out there, better luck next time!
Also, Read
