Former players slam http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 Cricket Board for not naming ODI captain for 2011 World Cup
Former Pakistan cricketers have criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for not naming the ODI skipper in the 15-member World Cup squad for next month’s cricket event of the year in the subcontinent.
The PCB today announced the team for the 2011 cricketing extravaganza without naming a skipper; this has escalated the rumours that the Board is not happy with the current ODI captain Shahid Afridi.
Afridi, who reached New Zealand to lead the team in the six-match ODI series against the Black Caps, was left in a state of uncertainty about his future as skipper of the national team by this action of the PCB.
Former wicketkeeper Moin Khan showed his utter disappointment towards the Board’s immature behaviour and felt that the skipper should have been named without any hassle. He said, “The board should have named the captain with the
World Cup squad." The veteran wicketkeeper was of the view that a change in captaincy at this point in time could prove counterproductive.
Salahuddin Sallu, who has been a member and chief of the selection committee on numerous occasions in the past, was confused by the selection committee’s decision not to name the captain. He was also not happy by the exclusion
of experienced middle-order batsman Mohammad Yousuf from the World Cup squad.
He criticized the selection committee for not holding a press conference to announce the World Cup team. The committee, led by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Khan-c71319, instead preferred to announce the names in a press release.
“If the selectors have a clear conscience that they have done the right thing they should have addressed a press conference instead of just issuing a press release. The World Cup is too important an event to be announced in a release,"
he said.
The experienced selector, favouring Afridi, said, “It makes no sense once Shahid Afridi has gone to New Zealand as captain for the One-Day series it would make no sense to change him as captain for the World Cup at such a late
stage.”
Former left-handed opening batsman Amir Sohail insisted that the Board should have named the player of their liking as the captain of the team by now; he also questioned the delay in this regard and suggested that such a delay
was going to have an adverse effect on the performance of Afridi and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972.
According to insiders, Haq, who is the currently the skipper of the Test team, is being considered by the Board to replace Afridi as the ODI captain for the 2011 World Cup.
According to sources, the Chairman PCB, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ijaz-Butt-c64128 is not happy with Afridi because of his habit of giving statements to the media without first consulting with the Board and perhaps this is the reason why the chairman wants to
hold back the decision of appointing the national team captain until the last moment.
A source within the PCB said, “It is nothing but a way to give out a clear message to Afridi that he should not take captaincy for granted and remain in line with board policies."
The Board is perhaps waiting for the outcome of the second Test between Pakistan and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wellington-c864, to see how Misbah leads the team. Pakistan has already won the first Test (under Misbah’s captaincy)
that was played in Hamilton.
According to a source, Afridi is underperforming due to the pressure of captaincy and that is why the Board is considering other options. Talking to the media, the source said, “There is a feeling that Afridi's talents as a player
are being affected by the pressures of captaincy and it would be better to give this responsibility to a more mature person like Misbah who has led the team well in the tests."
Pakistan’s World Cup squad includes: http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal (wk), Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir,
Ahmed Shehzad.
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