England Coach Andy Flower Speaks in Favour of Spin-Bowling Coach Mushtaq Ahmed after ICC Statement
With the recent match-fixing scandal levelled against the top Pakistani players, the past records of some former players have also come under scrutiny. Mushtaq Ahmed, a renowned former spin-bowler and now acting as the spin-bowling coach of the English cricket team had also faced match-fixing allegations during his peak time. However, England head coach Andy Flower came out with full support for the bowling coach. He praised Mushtaq Ahmed and declared him a good bowling coach.
Mushtaq’s fame was tainted due to the inclusion of his name in the Justice Qayyum inquiry report. The inquiry was conducted in 2000 on allegations of match-fixing against some members of the Pakistan cricket team.
Andy Flower said that he has no problems with Mushtaq Ahmed, and appreciated his work in improving the bowling performance of English bowlers. The ICC had raised objections on the employment of Mushtaq Ahmed as the England bowling coach. ICC was apprehensive about the past record of Mushtaq Ahmed and his association with illegal bookmakers – but really, the cricketing council should let bygones be bygones.
Mushtaq has transformed himself into a very different personality now. Andy Flower valued his association with Mushtaq and termed his coaching service as brilliant and valuable for the English team. He further expressed his willingness to take advantage of Mushtaq’s services in the Ashes series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746.
Mushtaq’s past credentials came into the limelight with a statement from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Haroon-Lorgat-c61719. In his statement, Haroon Lorgat expressed his apprehensions on England team management’s desire to hire Mushtaq as their bowling coach.
Haroon Lorgat opined that the ICC entails the responsibility to identify and expose those players whose past remained embroiled in controversies.
According to Haroon Lorgat, if the ECB feels satisfied with Mushtaq Ahmed, then the ICC holds no objection on his employment as the England bowling coach. He clarified ICC’s policy on zero tolerance for corruption-tainted players in its ranks.
"The best we can do is just highlight anybody we have got on a list who has been labelled before and I handed this to the ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board] and cautioned them [about Mushtaq] with a suggestion you need to do due diligence. They did their due diligence and they were satisfied with the appointment. We suggested they [ECB] had to be vigilant around their own changing rooms. We don't at the ICC, as a matter of fact, employ people we believe may have been tainted in the past but they are entitled to do their own due diligence and make their own decision," said the ICC chief executive.
Mushtaq Ahmed, a magician in terms of spinning the ball, has on his credit 185 wickets in 52 Test matches. He remained an active member of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 team from 1999 to 2003. Mushtaq was known for promoting Qadir’s legacy of googlies in the spin-bowling field. He was specially trained by the former veteran on the specific style. The bowler gained prominence during his marvellous performance in the English season during 2003. He clinched 100 wickets in the English season, a rare performance by any spin-bowler.
Mushtaq formally retired from international cricket in 2008 due to a knee injury that kept him out of scene for a while. The bowler was soon approached by the England cricket team for appointment as a bowling coach.
England coach Andy Flower declared Mushtaq to be a good bowling coach and rejected any apprehensions about Mushtaq’s past role. While ICC’s firm stance against corrupt players deserves appreciation, the unnecessary vilification of players based on their past record seems illogical. The coaching career of Mushtaq Ahmed, which spans over a period of two years, has remained flawless and transparent. With the current incident of match-fixing allegations against Pakistani players, ICC now appears to have awakened from a deep slumber. In this context, the advice c*m instruction by the ICC chief executive for reviewing the decision to employ Mushtaq Ahmed as a bowling coach is flawed, erroneous and unjustifiable.
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