Disgraced Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq's disciplinary hearing to answer charges of ball-tampering and bringing cricket into disrepute appears to have been postponed..jpg)
Originally scheduled to commence in London this Friday, the hearing has been moved to a later date due to the unavailability of chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle, who is expected to oversee the hearing.
According to Agence France-Presse, Madugalle has been called away to deal with a personal matter and he will not return to London in time for the scheduled hearing date.
"The difficulty relates to the availability of Ranjan Madugalle to chair the hearing as he is dealing with a private and personal matter that requires his urgent attention," said International Cricket Council chief executive Malcolm Speed.
"Pakistan and England, as the host country, have both expressed a preference for Ranjan to hear the case, and, on that basis, we have agreed to the postponement.
"We have looked at potential alternatives but, as the ICC's chief referee and a person with immense credibility within the game, Ranjan is the most appropriate person to adjudicate in this matter.
"We are yet to decide upon a new date but the intense nature of the upcoming one-day international series between England and Pakistan is likely to make it extremely difficult to fit in a hearing during that period.
"I should stress that the reason for the postponement is related solely to Ranjan's availability.
The delay means the upcoming one day international (ODI) series, which was in serious doubt after Inzamam threatened to withdraw his side from it if he was found guilty, now looks likely to continue as planned.
Inzamam faces a ban of up to one Test and/or two ODIs on the ball-tampering charge, and two to four Tests or four to eight ODIs on the disrepute charge.
