Sikandar Raza has attempted to defend Shaheen Shah Afridi following a Punjab police letter which accuses both players of forcibly escorting unauthorised visitors into the room of Raza during Pakistan Super League (PSL 11) on Saturday night.
Raza firmly rejected the allegations and explained that Afridi was merely helping him on his request.
The visit according to Raza included close friends and family members who he has known for almost twenty years.
He underlined the fact that Afridi had not acted independently and did not resort to force. Rather, Afridi also went in with him only to facilitate the meeting with his guests.
“No one was forced by Shaheen Raza stated, adding that in case of violation of any Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), it was because he was not aware of it.
He took the blame for the situation by stating that the culprit in this situation was him not Shaheen.
He also explained that he wanted to see his visitors in his room and not in a social place.
The letter by the police that was also shared on social media stated that Lahore Qalandars athletes had broken security procedures.
It alleged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) security officials and the PSL chief executive Salman Naseer had denied permission but the players still took visitors up the stairs.
It was also indicated in the letter that the group spent about three hours together yet Raza claimed that it was about 40 minutes.
Raza also went ahead to point out that he was there along with Afridi.
Shaheen had gone down on my request, he said, adding that his close friends and family were also present when the visit was made.
PCB and PSL have not yet given an official statement on the issue. The police have encouraged the league to ensure that proper actions are taken to curb future occurrences of the same.
