Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul Haq's bank accounts frozen

Misbah-ul Haq

If the plummeting fortunes of his cricket team wasn’t already enough, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq found himself in a fresh crisis on Tuesday, when his bank accounts were frozen, owing to an alleged tax evasion.

Misbah opted out of the final ODI versus Australia due to poor form with the bat and saw his team go down embarrassingly, despite needing just 2 runs in the final over.

Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) spokesman Shahid Hussain told media on Tuesday that No. 3 batsmen Azhar Ali’s accounts have also been frozen.

"Misbah has not paid taxes of 3.9 million rupees and Ali owes 1.5 million rupees in taxes, so the FBR has frozen their accounts and as per rules, their banks will be asked to deduct the amount if it is there in their accounts," he said.

Misbah and a number of other players had been warned earlier in 2012 by FBR and the Pakistan ODI skipper had seeked the help of finance minister Ishaq Dar earlier this year to help him settle the issue.

The minister has promised to help, resolve the issue but has asked all the players to pay their taxes without fail as it is a national obligation for every citizen. According to FBR figures, 0.5 per cent of Pakistanis pay income tax, or just 750,000 individuals out of a population of some 180 million.

The 40-year old had told on Monday that he will play ODIs for his country only when gets back to form and will not let his team suffer because of his lack of runs with the bat.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Shaharyar Khan said on Monday that it is up to Misbah now, on whether or not he wants to continue playing ODI cricket and lead his country in the format but also added that that the board was fixed on retaining him till next year’s World Cup.