Discontent, frustration over ex-PCB chief’s actions have resulted in chaos, says top Pak official K SHRINIWAS RAO
Posted online: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 0000 hours IST
Mumbai, October 9:
Younis Khan may have arrived in India with high hopes of taking home the coveted ICC Champions Trophy, but he will do well to keep in mind that after the tournament is over, he might not captain Pakistan again, ever.
If the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials are to be believed, then Younis’ statement to the media, refusing captaincy and saying: “I do not want to be a dummy,’’ has not gone down well with the who’s who of Pakistani cricket. This, despite the fact that he is seen as a natural leader.
“The hierarchy in the PCB will not take this lightly. While it totally understands Khan’s frustration — in not knowing about Faisal Iqbal’s selection and former PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan making him wait for more than an hour for a meeting — his statement to the media was totally uncalled for,’’ a top Pak board official said.
The official further added that if not for the recent Oval fiasco, the PCB wouldn’t have taken the U-turn in re-naming Younis as the captain. During the England tour, Younis was under the scanner for the ruckus he created after the Rose Bowl match against England. The “unnecessary shuffle in the batting order’’ didn’t go down well with the vice-captain and he had questioned the team management about it. Prior to that, Younis was also involved in a scuffle with Shahid Afridi during Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies.
Commenting on the Rose Bowl incident, former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas, who also happened to be the team manager in England, told The Indian Express, “Younis had unnecessarily become the scapegoat after the Rose Bowl match because he decided to speak his mind. It is not something that is uncommon in Pak cricket.’’
Former cricketer and current Punjab coach Intikhab Alam gave his view on the current mess in Pakistan cricket. “The way the Pak board is run isn’t very good. You do not make the captain of the team stand outside your room for one hour when he has come for a meeting (Shaharyar Khan made Younis wait outside his room for an hour). Secondly, you take the captain’s suggestion or inputs before selecting a particular player (referring to Faisal Iqbal’s selection). That was not done in Younis’ case,’’ Alam said.
“The Oval fiasco was very badly handled. To worsen that, came Younis’ statements and the setback of not having Inzi for the Champions Trophy. It was enough for Shaharyar Khan to resign, though I feel he should have quit much earlier. Everything has been a very badly handled affair and I guess all those who’re responsible for this mismanagement should take the blame. They (PCB) have encouraged indiscipline and it is understandable why players show such scant respect,’’ Alam said.
Interestingly, PCB director Abbas Zaidi has resigned as of this evening, another fall- out of the controversies raging in Pakistan cricket. Zaidid accepted that Pakistan, apart from perennially being ridden with such controversies, had not been able to find an authoritative captain like Imran Khan. He added that “Inzamam-ul Haq has been an excellent leader to the boys.’’
Zaidi, however, is reluctant to comment whether Younis will be considered for future captaincy or not. “Inzamam will return after the four-match ban,’’ is all he says.
That, though, does not look a possibility. There will be a technicality hindering that. The Participating Nations Agreement (PNA) says that a player who is replaced in a squad cannot be reinstated during the tournament. Which, of course, may keep Inzamam out of the Champions Trophy.
Meanwhile, Miandad underlined the issue with one important point: “You may be a good leader and an excellent cricketer, but you need to have discipline. Remember what the Australians did to Shane Warne, despite the fact that he is who he is.’’
Former Pak legends Miandad and Imran Khan have decided to take the bull by the horns and are calling for the ad-hoc body of the PCB to be replaced. “The country is run on ad hoc basis and so is cricket, and I think ad-hocism has to stop,’’ Imran told the Pak media, on Sunday.
A friendly overture New Delhi: This is one page in history Younis Khan would not want to reopen. But according to the Pakistani stand-in captain his friendly attitude with all the players has seen him getting the captaincy back. “I always respected the seniors and made the juniors comfortable in the team. If one did notice, I was always the first to come out and cheer for someone else. That shows that I am not jealous, so that’s why I was offered the captaincy back,” he said. According to him he is looking at nurturing the youngsters. “But they are keeping their distance after I was appointed captain, so I want to get close to them first in the next couple of days,” he said. — Phalguna Jandhyala
http://cricket.expressindia.com/fulliestory.php?content_id=14348
AuthorTopic: Younis may never again be skipper’ (Read 338 times)
January 26, 2006, 12:14:45 AM