Pakistan Cricket Faces Turbulence: Imam-ul-Haq and Rizwan Barred from President’s Trophy

Pakistan cricket has been dragged into fresh turbulence, with Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan barred from taking part in the domestic President’s Trophy Grade-I just days before the tournament’s first ball is bowled.

The pair, central figures in Pakistan’s recent Test plans, have been sidelined on disciplinary grounds while a cyber-crime investigation gathers pace around alleged leaks from the national dressing room.

Cyber probe engulfs senior players

Pakistan’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) questioned Imam and Rizwan in Lahore on Thursday after a formal complaint from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The inquiry centres on suspected unauthorised disclosure of information from inside the Test squad during the recent tour of England.

Both players had already been recalled from the Test party after Pakistan slumped to defeats in the first two matches of the three-game series. Seven players in total were sent home: five, the PCB stressed, for purely cricketing reasons. Imam and Rizwan were placed in a different category, with the board confirming an internal probe into their conduct.

That internal process has now spilled into a full-scale cyber investigation.

According to details carried by Dawn, the NCCIA summoned the two to its Lahore office and questioned them for around four hours. The players told investigators that their mobile phones were already with the agency and could be sent for forensic analysis. They also asked for extra time to file written explanations.

Domestic return blocked

On the field, both men were set for prominent roles in the President’s Trophy, which starts on Saturday across four venues.

Imam had been appointed captain of Oil and Gas Development Company, a significant responsibility for an opener seen as part of Pakistan’s Test core. Rizwan, the wicketkeeper-batter who has become one of the side’s most recognisable faces, had been named vice-captain for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines.

The ban cuts those plans off at the knees. Until the investigation is completed, neither will be allowed to take part in the first-class competition.

Even without the disciplinary cloud, they were unlikely to feature in the opening round. According to the same report, neither player completed the mandatory fitness tests required before the start of the tournament, which would have ruled them out of the first set of fixtures anyway.

Now the question is not when they return to domestic cricket, but under what conditions.

Lord’s no-show under scrutiny

The spotlight on Imam has grown harsher in recent days. Aaqib Javed, national selector and PCB director of high performance, revealed that the left-hander would also be investigated for failing to bat in either innings of the second Test against England at Lord’s.

Pakistan lost that match by 194 runs, a defeat that deepened the sense of crisis around the tour. Imam’s absence from the crease in both innings has become another line of inquiry for a board already grappling with questions about discipline, communication, and control inside the camp.

For now, the case sits with cyber-crime investigators, the players’ phones, and a set of written explanations still to be filed. The President’s Trophy will begin without two of Pakistan’s most high-profile cricketers, and a domestic season that should have been about form and opportunity instead opens under the shadow of suspicion.

How quickly that shadow lifts may shape not only their futures, but the tone of Pakistan’s next Test campaign.