LAHORE, June 18: Former Test player and cricket board secretary, Ijaz Butt on Saturday accused the PCB’s ‘negative’ role in ousting speedster Shoaib Akhtar from the tour of West Indies claiming it could destroy the bowler’s career.

Talking to Dawn, Ijaz said Shoaib had declared himself fit for the last tour of West Indies but the PCB dropped the match-winner without giving any genuine reason and a chance to prove his fitness.

He said the inclusion of Shoaib was also necessary after Pakistan were without its captain Inzamamul Haq and Shoaib Malik for the first Test while pace bowler Mohammad Sami did not take part in the series after undergoing surgery.

Pakistan lost the first Test, thus losing an opportunity to record first-ever clean sweep against the lowly-rated West Indians.

“It was an open secret that three players were not available and without them it was a hard task to achieve the milestone of making the clean sweep but even the board could not realise the importance of Shoaib Akhtar, who is still a match-winner,” Ijaz remarked.

The problems of the team were further compounded when Yousuf Youhana pulled out of the series to attend to his ailing father.

Ijaz urged the PCB to give Shoaib Akhtar the green signal well before the start of the home series against England scheduled for later this year.

“It is necessary to give Shoaib enough time to make himself mentally fit to make a comeback in the team and I fear that an eleventh hour decision about Shoaib cannot serve any positive purpose, both for the team and for the cricketer himself,” Ijaz pointed out.

He also criticised PCB chairman Shaharyar M. Khan for making adverse comments against former Test spinner Hasib Ahsan while rejecting his name as manager of the Pakistan team for the tour of India when he did not even applied for the job.

“Hasib is a gentleman and to me he was the perfect man for the post of manager as he has done it successfully during England tour way back in 80s,” he said.

The chairman in a letter to the Presidential Secretariat written on Feb 14 had showed reservations about the appointment of Hasib as team manager for the Indian tour.

The chairman also quoted former skipper Imran Khan, citing adverse remarks against Hasib. However, Imran in an interview with Dawn last Sunday denied the allegation and called Hasib a honest person.

Ejab said that the incidents during West Indies tour proved that the appointment of Saleem Altaf as manager was not a right one.

About the new constitution of the board, Ijaz said that unnecessary delay had been made in its implementation.

“The PCB is running under the ad hoc system for the last six years but the concerned officials are still not looking in any haste to end the ad hoc,” he said.

Ijaz added that the board should have taken the city cricket associations into confidence before handing over the new draft to the Presidential Secretariat for final approval a couple of days ago.

He pointed out that the local associations had expressed their reservations about some clauses of the new constitution which may lead to anarchy if approved by the president, who is the Patron-in-Chief of the PCB, without giving due weight to the associations.

The PCB chairman had disclosed some clauses of the constitution in the press according to which government officials, politicians and those who had completed two-term would not be allowed to contest the elections of the city association.

“How the chairman can impose such sanctions when he himself has done contrary to it by inducting government officials in the advisory council,” he asked.

Ali Raza, president of National Bank of Pakistan and Lt Gen Arif Hasan were inducted in the advisory council. The latter resigned two months ago. But the PCB made it public earlier this month, when the media asked about it.