Lahore
Former Cricket Captain Inzamamul Haq came down hard upon Pakistan cricket Board (PCB) for creating rift within the Pakistan team regarding appointment of new Test captain.
Inzamamul Haq said that PCB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) should have given him [Azhar Ali] time till conclusion of Zimbabwe series.
He expressed these views while talking on a YouTube channel on Monday.
PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan earlier this week had said that team management under the supervision of head coach Misbahul Haq would review Azhar Ali’s captaincy before announcing the Test squad against New Zealand tour.
“CEO’s statement that they are going to review Azhar Ali’s captaincy may cause rift among the team members,” said Inzamamul Haq, pointing out that the player in question would start lobbying and it would eventually lead towards rift.
“You should have made this statement at least after Zimbabwe series if you really wanted to change the captain,” he further said.
Inzamamul Haq also said that such gossips should have not been in the media. He pointed out that the board sometimes itself leaked such information in the media in order to gauge the reaction from the media and fans. Board, he said, might get an idea about public sentiment from this but it badly affected the team.
“Such things shake confidence and unity among the players,” he added. Azhar Ali had replaced Sarfraz Ahmad as captain of Test team but his last year meeting with PM Imran Khan might be one of the reasons that his replacement was being discussed. Head Coach Misbahul Haq and all rounder Hafeez both were also there in the meeting with PM Khan. And they all had not informed PCB about their meeting with the PM.—APP
