Yawar denies ‘suspicious’ presences

LAHORE: Yawar Saeed, Pakistan’s manager in Sri Lanka, has denied reports that the players were “approached by suspicious characters” at their team hotel during the two Colombo Tests earlier this month.“No such thing happened,” Saeed said. “There are usually many other guests at the hotel, who want autographs and photographs with the players, and then maybe invited them for a coffee or something. I just instructed the players not to go out with people they didn’t know from before. And that is the usual protocol.” According to sources, the players were invited by individuals who claimed to be fans. The team then shifted to another floor in the same hotel after they found that these “fans” were on the same floor as the players, the sources said. Saeed, however, said that nobody in the team had changed their rooms, let alone the floor. Meanwhile Younis Khan, the Pakistan captain, told Geo TV, “No bookie has approached me. If ever one does, I will catch him and hand him over to ICC because these people have destroyed the game.”