October 09, 2006	Monday	Ramazan 15, 1427

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LAHORE, Oct 8: Pakistan’s sacked assistant coach Mushtaq Ahmed felt deeply hurt by the decision of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) at his exclusion from the Champions Trophy squad.

Mushtaq, the former Test leg-spinner, was informed on Saturday, only three hours before the departure of the team to India for the ICC Champions Trophy, that the new chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Dr Nasim Ashraf had decided to exclude him from team management.

“Of course, the decision hurt me as no reason was conveyed to me for it by any PCB official. I would like to meet the PCB chairman in next couple of days to ask about the exact position which forced him to take a sudden decision,” Mushtaq told Dawn on Sunday.

Mushtaq said if the new chairman took the decision under any policy then he would respect his decision.

Referring to reports that ICC had probably objected to his appointment, in the wake of penalty imposed on him by one-man judicial commission probing the match-fixing, charges, he countered that he was assigned the same job for the home series against India and if there was no objection then, why now?.

Furthermore, Mushtaq said he had an offer as bowling coach from England's National Academy. “I believe if ICC has any objection about me the ECB could not have made an offer to me.”

Mushtaq said he was being honoured in England but in his own country, he was not being accorded the same treatment.

Mushtaq helped Sussex win the County Championship twice.

“Taunton, a town in Sussex is starting a bus service after my name, honouring me and after the PCB's decision I received a number of calls from England, expressing sympathy with me,” he said.