December 23, 2021
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja is displeased with leg-spinner Yasir Shah after he was booked in the alleged rape case of a minor girl. Raja says prominent players of the country like Yasir getting accused of aiding an alleged criminal is "not good" for cricket.
On Monday, the leg-spinner was nominated in an FIR filed at Islamabad's Shalimar police station. A couple complained in the FIR that Yasir Shah helped his friend Farhan despite knowing he had raped and made objectionable videos of their 14-year old niece.
In the application, the aggrieved girl alleged that Shah’s friend kidnapped her at gunpoint, raped her, made videos of her and later made threats to her. She said they warned her to keep her mouth shut or they would make her videos public.
The couple stated in the FIR that when they sought help from Yasir Shah, he ridiculed the incident, threatened them and their niece. He said he would exercise his influence to drag them into legal issues, said the FIR.
"It is a no-brainer, Yasir is a circuit player and while we train and educate these players, they are in ambassadorial positions and should know with whom and where to socialise," Ramiz said while addressing a press conference in Karachi.
"I don't know what the truth is in this case but it is a fact that such headlines are not good for Pakistan cricket and especially at a time when there is a feel-good factor going through Pakistan cricket now."
Ramiz Raja said that the incident has shaken efforts being made by the PCB to project a positive image of Pakistan at the international stage.