Former Pakistan cricket captain Inzamam ul-Haq has expressed shock and disgust over the International Cricket Councils (ICC) decision to reinstate Darrell Hair as a test and one-day International umpire.
Chandigarh, Mar 20 : Former Pakistan cricket captain Inzamam ul-Haq has expressed shock and disgust over the International Cricket Council's (ICC) decision to reinstate Darrell Hair as a test and one-day International umpire.
Inzamam said the step would create controversies.
"During the hearing of the case, Hair's intentions were suspect, as he asked for money to close the case. After that, former CEO of ICC Malcolm Speed has started this all over again by reinstating Hair. The earlier Hair case was not just about the complaint that we filed against him, but even before the incident, the Pakistan Cricket Board had filed several complaints against him, saying that he was not fair, and thus, should not be allowed to do umpiring in Pakistan matches," Inzamam said.
"But the still the ICC did nothing. Now, the ICC has again started all this. I think ICC has the habit of creating controversies in cricket," he added.
ICC restored Hair as a test and one-day international umpire on Tuesday. The move came after Hair underwent a rehabilitation programme devised by the ICC and umpired less important fixtures.
The Hair issue was the most significant of several decisions taken by the ICC's executive board at the end of its two-day meeting in Dubai.
The ICC is, however, having a second thoughts about Hair officiating in tests and one-day matches involving Pakistan, David Richardson, a senior ICC official, said on Wednesday.
Hair, 55, was sacked from the ICC's elite panel of umpires in November 2006 for his role in the Oval Test in August that year when Pakistan became the first team cricket history to forfeit a test.
Pakistan refused to return to the field after being penalized for alleged ball tampering.
ANI