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| May 11, 2006 | Thursday | Rabi-us-Sani 12, 1427 |
Rhodes hired to bring change in fielding culture: PCB chief
KARACHI, May 10: Ad hoc chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Shaharyar M. Khan admitted on Wednesday that hiring of South African Jonty Rhodes was not going to convert Pakistani fielders into world-beaters overnight.
The PCB chairman, told a press conference that Rhodes was being roped in to bring about a ‘fielding culture’ among current national players prior to the England tour.
“We must realize that Rhodes is not coming here to train our players during the 15-day stint. He will be only inculcating a sense of fielding culture in the players for their own benefit.
“This was our intention to acquire Jonty’s services because we all know pretty well that one cannot convert the Pakistani fielders into world-beaters with a magic wand,” he said.
The PCB chief announced apart from the senior players, Pakistan ‘A’ members would also be asked to attend the session with Rhodes.
“We have also ‘A’ team players involved. In fact, we are planning to invite Rhodes for another stint with the junior and under-19 cricketers sometime in August,” he announced.
The chairman also revealed that the PCB had two other venues on stand-by for the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup in case of any emergency.
“We have decided in principle to have Multan and Peshawar ready for the World Cup if there is any apprehension on the security front at the time of the event.
“The PCB has proposed Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad and the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad as our first-choice World Cup venues in the compliance book submitted to the ICC,” he said.
“At the same time we believe that the preparations for the World Cup 2011 should start without much delay.
“Grounds need to be upgraded and amenities have to be improved so that visitors go away with a positive impression of Pakistan.
“Pakistan has to take the lead on the preparations front since we are also hosting the Asia Cup and the Champions Trophy well ahead of the World Cup.”
Shaharyar said issues pertaining to the hosting of important matches (semifinals and final) would be threshed out during forthcoming meetings with the representatives of the Asian cricket bloc.
“Issues like staging of the final and the semifinals will be sorted out amicably in the due course of time when the four Asian cricket boards meet.
“We are due to meet in Kuala Lumpur next month and we hope the suspense (over venues) ends as soon as possible,” he remarked.
The PCB chief also said that Pakistan won’t be forced to participate in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa next year.
“The PCB has a clear stance on this issue. We are still not sure about the actual popularity of this format of the game because the feedback we have has indicated that Twenty20 is detrimental for the players.
“Anyway participation in the first tournament is not mandatory. But we could still send an ‘A’ squad or probably a team comprising players of the two domestic Twenty20 Cup champions (Faisalabad Wolves and Sialkot Stallions) and maybe throw in someone like Shahid Afridi as well,” he declared.
The PCB chief, meanwhile, announced an inquiry was under way in the Abu Dhabi incident involving a few members of Pakistan ‘A squad which last week won the EurAsia Cricket Series.
“We have taken serious notice of the incident after receiving the team manager’s tour report. The PCB is conducting its own inquiry and if the players involved are guilty of breaching code of conduct, they will be dealt with,” he pledged.
Meanwhile, the PCB has decided to revive Grade-II tournaments from next season. “The reason for reverting back to non-first-class tournaments is that there are still a large group of cricketers, especially in small districts, who go without playing because of other selection constraints,” the PCB chief said.
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