July 05, 2008	Saturday	Rajab 1, 1429

KARACHI, July 4: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf on Friday expressed disappointment over Pakistan’s failure to reach the Asia Cup final but added that it was a young side that was showing signs of improvement and should be given time to settle down.

He also disclosed that captain Shoaib Malik played the crucial match against Sri Lanka on his (Dr Ashraf’s) request despite being unfit. “I asked Shoaib to play that match, to meet the challenge and lead the team since the boys needed him to fight from the front,” said the PCB chief. “Shoaib played that match with high blood pressure and when he came back after batting, he had to lie in the dressing room with ice on his head. “But unfortunately some people have doubted Shoaib’s commitment which is not fair.”

Shoaib Malik scored a resolute 52 off 79 balls in the match against Sri Lanka but Pakistan were eventually restricted to 238-9 in the allotted 50 overs because the scoring rate crept up steadily to reach impossible proportions.

“I also met Shahid Afridi that day who was also worried over his form and agreed that since he was passing through a bad patch he should not be played at all,” said Dr Ashraf. “But the match against Sri Lanka was a crucial one so we decided to go with the seasoned all-rounder.”

The chairman reiterated that the future of both Shoaib Malik and coach Geoff Lawson were safe and they would be completing their tenure. “Pakistan is a young team which is improving gradually and I have already said that it will take about two years to fully blossom,” he said.

When reminded that that the Pakistan team has been struggling since the 2003 World Cup, the PCB chief said the board was trying its best to uplift Pakistan cricket but many factors were involved in the process besides the management.“Give me the same players who were part of the team in the 90s such as Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar, Aamir Sohail and others and see the result,” he said. “It will take time to groom the players and we are doing our best in that.”

The chairman emphasized that with the successful organization of the Asia Cup in Pakistan, PCB had proved to all and sundry that the country was safe for cricket and it was for this reason that the ICC had allowed the country to stage the Champions Trophy.

“I assure the nation that Pakistan will be the hosts of the Champions Trophy in coming September,” he said confidently.

The chairman, who recently returned from Dubai after attending ICC the meetings there said he also met his New Zealand counterpart who assured that his team would be visiting Pakistan in August to play a three-match one-day tch series before the Champions Trophy.

He explained that the ICC was giving due importance to Test cricket and it was a wrong perception that the game’s conventional form was under any threat due to the Twenty20 cricket. “Test cricket will remain the centre piece of the game, no doubt about it.”

He added that Pakistan will hold a Super Pakistan League (Twenty20) next year for which major decisions have been taken. The PCB is about to announce the details of the competition. Dr Ashraf concluded by confirming that two teams from Pakistan would definitely compete in the Champions League (Twenty20) and added that the IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi had guaranteed that as well.