Lashings World XI cricket team are using their international contacts in an attempt to offer Zulqarnain Haider a safe haven in the United Kingdom.The Pakistan wicket-keeper has been at the centre of a media storm this week after fleeing from Dubai on Monday, announcing he was seeking asylum.
It came after the 24-year-old's heroic display in Pakistan's one-wicket win over South Africa in the fourth One-Day International on Sunday allegedly incurred the wrath of a match-fixing ring. He subsequently flew to London, without telling his team management, claiming he has received death threats.
On Wednesday his contract was suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board, who said Zulqarnain had made no attempt to contact them and that it had been unable to locate him - though he is believed to be staying at a hotel near Heathrow.
David Folb, chairman of Maidstone-based Lashings, offered Zulqarnain a place with his team as soon as he heard of his predicament - as exclusively revealed on our website, www.kentsport.co.uk.
"We'd love to have him in the team," he said. "We've been trying to contact him, via text, phone and email and our door is always open to him."
The club have sheltered players in a similar situation in the past and have enlisted the help of Rashid Latif, who has been texting Zulqarnain to offer advice. The former Pakistan wicketkeeper has been a Lashings stalwart, since he was shunned by the cricket establishment in his home country for blowing the whistle on match-fixing scandals over a decade ago.
Folb said: "We have tried to contact Zulqarnain through a couple of ex-international players. Rashid would be well-placed to understand both parties having been in that situation before."
The businessman believes the club's track record should count in their favour. They also intervened to offer the Zimbabwean Henry Olonga a safe haven, following his black-armband protest against the Mugabe regime during the 2003 World Cup.
"At Lashings we have a long and proud tradition of offering help to those in need," Folb said. "Henry faced the very serious threat of assassination if he'd stayed in Zimbabwe after the World Cup, while Rashid was also treated as a pariah because he stood up for what he believed was right. We believe Zulqarnain would feel at home with us."
However, Zulqarnain's decision attracted bitter criticism from former a string of former Pakistan players, including the former Kent and Pakistan all-rounder Asif Iqbal.
"I don't think he did the right thing, he made a big mistake," Iqbal said. "I don't think he deserves the attention he is now getting in the media. What he has done is very wrong for Pakistan cricket."
