Updated : Wednesday March 10 , 2010
LAHORE: Taking action on the players’ poor performance on the recent Australian tour, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday imposed life bans on former captains Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan,it was reported.

The PCB also banned former captain Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved for one year, along with a fine of Rs two million, for breaking the team’s code of conduct during the tour of Australia.

All-rounder Shahid Afridi has also been fined for involvement in ball tampering.

In an unprecedented move, PCB fined Naved, Malik and Umar Akmal Rs 2 million each while imposed Rs 3 mln fine on Kamran Akmal and Afridi each.

The PCB took hard steps recognizing recommendations of its enquiry committee after Pakistan’s debacle in Australia tour and the open rebellion by several players during the trip.

The board banned two key players for life, Muhammad Yousuf and former captain Younis Khan for their disputes in the team “that has long been harming the overall performance of the squad.”

PCB authorities affirmed that both the player were not able to represent Pakistan at any forum in future as “the team paid an enormous price in the differences between the two senior players.”

Earlier, the PCB inquiry committee had recommended disciplinary action against five players including former captain Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi.

The captain, coach and the manager on the Australian tour had reported Malik and Rana for misbehavior and not cooperating with the management.

He said the inquiry committee had also advised the Board to make no compromise on discipline and not select any player who was found guilty of violating the code of conduct.