Karachi cricket chiefs on Friday banned three international players – Sohail Khan, Fawad Alam and Khalid Latif – for lack of discipline during a domestic Twenty20 tournament.

Sohail, 29, is banned from playing for Karachi in any domestic match, and Alam and Latif for playing in Twenty20s. All three bans are to last 12 months.

“It is disappointing to ban players but we had to take the decision so that an example is set,” Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) president Sirajul Islam Bukhari told AFP.

The players were shown on TV criticising coach Tauseef Ahmed, a former Pakistan player, during the Super Eight Twenty20 event in the eastern city of Lahore last month.

Sohail has played two Tests, five one-day and three Twenty20 internationals for Pakistan, the last of which was on Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe in 2011.

Alam, 27, hit a century on his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2009. He has so far played three Tests, 27 one-day and 24 Twenty20.

The 27-year-old Latif has played five one-days and seven Twenty20s. He last played a Twenty20 match on last year’s tour of Sri Lanka.

Pakistan cricket has been in and out of the headlines for bans over match-fixing and discipline problems.

Three top players – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer – were banned in a spot-fixing case in 2010. Appeals against the bans were rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sports on Wednesday. - AFP