Pak ’keeper Haider wants career back

Pakistan wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider, who controversially fled to London last year, yesterday said he wanted to return to the sport from self-imposed retirement

Pak 'keeper Haider wants career back

Pakistan wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider, who controversially fled to London last year, yesterday said he wanted to return to the sport from self-imposed retirement.

The 25-year-old claimed he received death threats from unknown people to fix a one-day match during Pakistan's series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates and subsequently applied for political asylum in Britain.

He announced that he was retiring from international cricket and threatened to name Pakistani players involved in match-fixing. But instead he returned home last month after the Pakistani government guaranteed he and his family would be safe.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) formed a three-man committee to look into Haider's disappearance but found no clear motives, calling him "mentally ill".

Haider yesterday said he wanted to play again for Pakistan. "I have decided to abandon retirement and will soon meet PCB officials once I get clearance to go out of my home," Haider told AFP from Lahore.

Since Haider returned last month, the PCB said they are waiting for him to reply to key questions sent while he was in London. "The committee wanted certain clarification from Haider and he will be given an opportunity to meet PCB officials only after he sends his reply," a PCB spokesman said last month.

Haider said he can still play domestic cricket. "I did not retire from first-class cricket, so I can still play for my department where my job is permanent," said Haider, who is employed by a bank in Pakistan.

Haider, who made his international debut in 2007, has so far played three Twenty20s, four one-days and a Test for Pakistan.