23 May 2004	Sunday	03 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

KARACHI, May 22: The former Pakistan cricket captain and chief of Tehrik-i-Insaf, Imran Khan on Saturday called for adopting the Australian example in Pakistan for throwing up competitive cricketers.

He said the President of the PCB should be elected by the elected associations and the post of CEO should be properly advertised. Imran, who was responding to questions after the Karachi Press Club's meet the press programme, told a questioner that President of the country should not have anything to do with the PCB.

"What does he know about cricket," he said.

He was also critical of the PCB's handling of Shoaib Akhtar's matter and said the medical report of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital had established that the speedster had stomach injury.

Imran nevertheless said that if Shoaib was guilty of indiscipline then the board should have immediately taken action against him. But waiting for the series to end and then instituting an inquiry was just not understandable. How could a player give his best in such a situation.

The cricketer-turned politician also called for non-interference in the Zimbabwe cricket matters which had accentuated owing to the clash of white farmers with the government.

"The current cricket crisis in Zimbabwe is their internal matter and it's a clash of white minority farmers with the majority. But no one has the right to interfere in it," said the former Pakistan captain.

Imran said that cricket in Pakistan will never improve unless there is a change in the prevailing system.

"How can one expect a drastic improvement when the game is headed by people who have scant knowledge about cricket and the cricket board has the Pakistan president as its patron," he observed.

"There is no accountability and on one knows where the vast revenue, generated through marketing and television rights, is being spent.

"Don't expect a miracle in the fortunes of Pakistan cricket. Unless there is democracy, things won't change for the better," he pointed out.

The cricketing icon reiterated that fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was being made a scapegoat for Pakistan's recent defeats during the historic series against India.

"It was ridiculous to find that the Pakistan Cricket Board opted to initiate inquiry against Shoaib through a medical commission. These officials have turned Pakistan cricket into something of a laughing stock on the work stage. I just can't work it out," said Imran, an MNA now heading his own political party.

"Had I been in Shoaib Akhtar's boots, I would have sued the PCB for defamation for challenging my reputation. How could they (PCB officials) question his integrity by refusing to accept his medical report," the great all-rounder of the 1980s asked.

Imran remarked that Pakistan lost to India simply because of poor planning. "In hindsight, they played into the hands of the Indians in the opening Test at Multan by making a dead pitch that suited the strong batting of the visiting side."