Shaheen Afridi, Sikandar Raza charged with breach of security for ‘forcibly escorting’ 4 visitors to hotel room Fresh controversy has hit the Pakistan Super League as Lahore Qalandars all-rounder Sikandar Raza and pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi were accused of breaching hotel security protocols after four “unauthorised” visitors allegedly entered the team’s hotel room. According to a Punjab Police letter sent to PSL CEO Salman Naseer, Raza and Afridi allegedly “forcibly escorted” the visitors despite earlier refusal by security. However, Raza strongly denied these allegations. He clarified that the four visitors were his longtime friends and family members and Afridi was merely assisting him at his request. “Shaheen didn’t force anyone,” Raza told ESPNCricinfo. “My friends and family came and on my request Shaheen helped them (come to my room). If it was the SOPs, I didn’t know and Shaheen didn’t know to some extent. I’m the culprit here, not Shaheen. He forgot my request because it was my close family and friends; I didn’t want to meet them at the mall. We sat upstairs for 40 minutes.” Raza also emphasized the personal context, noting that he has known the visitors for 19 years and rarely sees his family and children, who were also part of the group. “Please don’t forget that my family and relatives live here and I don’t see them all year,” he said. He reiterated that Afridi was merely following his instructions and not acting independently. The police letter claimed that approval for the visitors was sought from both the PCB security manager and the Qalandars liaison officer, but these requests were rejected. The letter indicated that the refusals were ignored and that the visitors stayed in the room for three hours, contradicting Raz’s account of a 40-minute meeting. Lahore Qalandars sources largely confirmed the incident but denied that there was any forced entry. PCB media chief Umar Farooq confirmed that the board is aware of the incident and is communicating with the PSL. The police called on the PSL to look into the matter and prevent similar incidents in the future.
