Shahid Afridi appeals for an lbw

Shahid Afridi appeals for an lbw, West Indies v Pakistan, 2nd ODI, Gros Islet, April 25, 2011

©AFP

Shahid Afridi appeals for an lbw, West Indies v Pakistan, 2nd ODI, Gros Islet, April 25, 2011©AFP

Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez added 66 for the first wicket

Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez added 66 for the first wicket, West Indies v Pakistan, 2nd ODI, Gros Islet, April 25, 2011©AFP

Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez added 66 for the first wicket, West Indies v Pakistan, 2nd ODI, Gros Islet, April 25, 2011©AFP

West Indies celebrate Mohammad Hafeez's wicket

West Indies celebrate Mohammad Hafeez's wicket, West Indies v Pakistan, 2nd ODI, Gros Islet, April 25, 2011

©AFP

West Indies celebrate Mohammad Hafeez's wicket, West Indies v Pakistan, 2nd ODI, Gros Islet, April 25, 2011©AFP

Ahmed Shehzad reached his 2nd century off 143 balls

Ahmed Shehzad reached his century off 143 balls, West Indies v Pakistan, 2nd ODI, Gros Islet, April 25, 2011

©AFP

Ahmed Shehzad reached his century off 143 balls, West Indies v Pakistan, 2nd ODI, Gros Islet, April 25, 2011©AFP

Zulqarnain Haider leaving Islamabad airport

Zulqarnain Haider leaving Islamabad airport, April 25, 2011

©AFP

Zulqarnain Haider leaving Islamabad airport, April 25, 2011©AFP

Sachin Tendulkar and wife Anjali stand in front of a portrait of spiritual guru Sri Satya Sai Baba

Sachin Tendulkar and wife Anjali stand in front of a portrait of spiritual guru Sri Satya Sai Baba, Puttaparthi, April 25, 2011©AFP

Sachin Tendulkar and wife Anjali stand in front of a portrait of spiritual guru Sri Satya Sai Baba, Puttaparthi, April 25, 2011©AFP

Zulqarnain Haider and Rehman Malik

Zulqarnain Haider and Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik are all smiles, Islamabad, April 25, 2011

©AFP

Zulqarnain Haider and Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik are all smiles, Islamabad, April 25, 2011©AFP

Rehman Malik met Zulqarnain Haider

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik met Zulqarnain Haider and his family upon Haider's return to Pakistan, Islamabad, April 25, 2011©AFP

Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik met Zulqarnain Haider and his family upon Haider's return to Pakistan, Islamabad, April 25, 2011©AFP

Hammad Azam's first international wicket

Hammad Azam celebrates his first international wicket, West Indies v Pakistan, 2nd ODI, Gros Islet, April 25, 2011

©AFP

Hammad Azam celebrates his first international wicket, West Indies v Pakistan, 2nd ODI, Gros Islet, April 25, 2011©AFP

Pakistan news

Zulqarnain Haider returns to Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff

April 25, 2011

Five and a half months after fleeing to London from the UAE on the morning of an ODI, Zulqarnain Haider, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper, has returned home, having secured security assurances from the government about his safety and that of his family.

Zulqarnain Haider landed at Islamabad airport on Monday morning © AFP

Haider landed at Islamabad airport on Monday morning and was swiftly escorted by security personnel to the office of Rehman Malik, the Interior Minister, who had convinced him to come back from London. Haider, who turned 25 on Saturday, had announced last week that he was prepared to revoke his application for asylum in the UK and return to Pakistan and resume his playing career. However, soon after that, there was confusion; some channels reported that he was reconsidering his decision after receiving threatening phone calls in the aftermath of his decision to return.

But later he clarified to other channels - as well as leaving an update on his Facebook page - confirming that he would be returning as planned. Haider also recorded the threatening calls he had received, parts of which were aired on some Pakistani channels.

"I am happy to return," he said on Monday afternoon, after a meeting with Malik. "I have met Rehman Malik and the sports minister and they have provided me foolproof security," he said.

"When I landed at the airport everything was superb. They have given me superb accommodation and have lived upto their promise. I have just talked to them and briefed them on what happened to me. When I meet Ijaz Butt [PCB chairman] I will share with him too. I think no one will put his future on line and there were some reasons when I left the team and went to Britain."

Haider had gone missing from the Pakistan team's hotel in Dubai on the morning of the fifth and final ODI against South Africa on November 8, saying he had received death threats from unidentified people seeking to draw him into match-fixing. He fled to the UK to seek protection and placed an application for asylum that hinged on the nature of the information he was able to divulge, as the extraordinary nature of his case appeared to fall outside the usual conditions required of a person seeking refugee status.

In the aftermath of his flight, Haider announced his international retirement and his contract with the PCB was suspended. A fact-finding committee subsequently set-up by the PCB to look into the affair failed to find any clear motives behind his actions.

But the committee was told by some of the national team's support staff that Haider had a complex personality, was a "weak nerve" person and "a person who is easily convinced into believing whatever is said to him." The committee, which spoke to Haider by phone, asked the PCB to write to Haider and ask him what happened in Dubai which forced him to fly to London.

The report tapped into increasing public scepticism over the motives for Haider's flight, not helped by a growing number of statements by the player promising much in the fight against corruption but delivering little. When one channel said last week that he was considering not returning, Haider threatened them with legal action.

What happens now remains unclear. A board official told ESPNcricinfo that there was no "official next step," as far as Haider was concerned. "The fact-finding committee's last communication with him was to seek some more details, but they never heard back from him. The board will do nothing now until he gets in touch with us. After that we can decide on a future course of action, whether disciplinary because he breached the code of conduct, or otherwise."

Haider said he hadn't decided whether or not to take back his retirement, saying he wanted to "spend some time with my family," first.

West Indies v Pakistan, 2nd ODI, Gros Islet, St Lucia

Afridi asks West Indies to bat

Shahid Afridi put West Indies in to bat after winning the toss, after two losses, in the second ODI in St Lucia, hoping to repeat the successful chase that gave Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The stands were disappointingly empty at the start of the game.

West Indies made one change to their XI that lost on Saturday, giving Antigua legspinner Anthony Martin a debut. Andre Russell was the player to make way as West Indies wanted two spinners - both of them of the legbreak variety - on a slow pitch at Gros Islet. The exclusion of Russell for Martin, however, lengthened the tail significantly.

Pakistan were unchanged from the first ODI.

Mohammad Hafeez
 celebrates Devon Smith's
 wicket, West Indies v Pakistan
, 2nd ODI, Gros Islet, April 25, 2011
©AFP

West Indies (possible): 1 Devon Smith, 2 Lendl Simmons, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Kirk Edwards, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Carlton Baugh (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Devendra Bishoo, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Anthony Martin

Pakistan (possible): 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Asad Shafiq, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Umar Akmal, 6 Hammad Azam, 7 Mohammad Salman (wk), 8 Shahid Afridi (capt), 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Junaid Khan, 11 Saeed Ajmal

George Binoy is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo