Not the Players but PCB Management can Indulge in Politics
The Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ijaz Butt has underplayed any estrangement with the national coach Waqar Younis.
The chairman was reportedly dejected with Younis because of his remarks about the squad and other cricket matters but he has denied any animosity towards the former fast-bowler.
“I don’t have any differences with Waqar,” Butt told a news reporter. “In fact, I’m on very good terms with him and he’s a nice gentleman”.
Waqar Younis was not included in the selection committee meeting that also involved the chairman PCB Ijaz Butt and Captain Shahid Afridi.
Reports claim that the national coach was not invited by the administration for such an important meeting. National coach was also missing in the press conference in which the 15-men squad for the Asia Cup was announced.
The chairman, however, underplayed this issue as well blaming media in this regard. Butt said that it was merely “exaggeration” on the account of the media. The chairman PCB added that he was contented with the coach’s performance and that he was working hard to catch the best out of his players.
“I hope Younis would serve for a long time. As long as the team gives the desired results under his supervision, he’ll remain the coach of Pakistan”.
In the interim, Ijaz Butt said that efforts were in progress by the board for the revival of international cricket in Pakistan and that PCB officials were regularly in touch with almost all the other boards to bring in a series at any level in Pakistan.
“The security situation in the country is not improving because certain teams are reluctant to visit Pakistan but we’re still trying to host a series and quite confident that we’ll host a team in the near future”.
Sri Lankan team has already shown its intentions to visit Pakistan. Sri Lankan Ambassador to Pakistan said a week ago that the terrorist attacks on Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009 have failed to break the player’s confidence to come and play in Pakistan. He said that his country cricketer’s are waiting for a bilateral series invitation from PCB. He said that Lankans have no issues for playing in Pakistan.
Butt said that hosting the series against South Africa in the Middle East in October, would generate good revenue for PCB which would do good to cricket in Pakistan.
The series consists of five One-Day Internationals, two Test matches and a solitary T20 starting on October 27.
Pakistan cricket is having its rough run these days. Continuously dwindling performance of the team and their code of conduct have been further worsened by the mishandling of cricket affairs by the cricket management. Pakistan cricket is in the hands of a highly incompetent and inefficient management.
Pakistan’s legendary Zaheer Abbas, on Saturday, has punted at the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) performance, mincing no words against the PCB. Abbas held the country’s cricket management accountable for embarrassing senior national players.
Commenting on the board’s appeal judge Irfan Qadir’s verdict to lift indefinite ban on Younus Khan, a former Pakistan skipper Abbas told a media reporter that the way PCB has handled the matter showed its complete inconsistency.
“They have an autocratic system in the board. They do what they want and have no remorse at all,” Abbas said.
When asked about the logic following PCB’s decision to bar some of the players, counting former skippers Younus Khan and Shoaib Malik, for misdemeanours during the devastating tour of Australia, former Pakistan great Abbas said, “I see no logic to ban a player and then remove it after two months. The board first tried to discredit the players and now by removing the bans abruptly, they are discrediting themselves”.
The question that arises here is what was the management doing when the discipline in the boys was going down the drain or the players were indulging in such wicked activities?
Abbas, however, backed up the newly appointed captain Shahid Afridi saying: “He is a good all-round player and must be given proper opportunity to establish himself as a leader”.
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