Pakistan has banned its cricketers from social networking sites Facebook and Twitter in the latest effort to exert discipline following a series of damaging scandals, an official said Wednesday. Team manager Intikhab Alam said the decision was taken after wicketkeeper Zulwarnain Haider used Facebook to announce his retirement, after absconding from duty in Dubai and flying to London last month.
Intikhab told AFP that players had been ordered to steer clear of such websites. "Nobody is allowed to discuss cricket on websites like Facebook and Twitter, and since there is a clause in players' central contracts, they are bound to follow it," Intikhab said. Alam said players had disowned any Facebook and Twitter accounts.