LAHORE: Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman  Ijaz Butt has demanded of incumbent chairman Zaka Ashraf to change head coach Dav Whatmore and T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez as both have joined hands to launch a conspiracy against Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq.

“In place of Whatmore, a local coach from amongst Mohsin Hasan Khan, Waqar Younis or Zaheer Abbas should be given a chance while Misbah-ul-Haq should again be made captain of the T20 team in place of Hafeez,” Ijaz Butt said while speaking to Dawn here on Monday.

“Misbah by winning the title of the best batsman in the Super Eight T20 stage has proved his talent as a fine T20 player and I feel that injustice was done to him when he was replaced by Hafeez as captain,” Ijaz, a former Test batsman, added.

“Both Whatmore and Hafeez support and back each other since the latter was named T20 captain and that has put great pressure on Misbah, affecting his performance,” argued Ijaz. “Prior to that, Misbah was doing an outstanding job both as batsman and skipper.”

Ijaz observed that Misbah, being a strong person mentally, put up a good performance with the bat in the last series against South Africa despite being under pressure. “He has followed that up with impressive performance in the domestic Super Eight tournament and now in the One-day Cup as well,” he said.

Ijaz further suggested to Zaka that if a change in T20 captaincy was imperative, all-rounder Shoaib Malik could be a better choice for the post.

He also criticised the national selection committee for ousting a seasoned campaigner like Younis Khan from the list of 30 probables for the ICC Champions Trophy.

“They should have assessed Younis’ performance in the ongoing One-day Cup before making a decision against him,” said Ijaz. “He has proved the selectors’ wrong by scoring a fine century for HBL in the very first match of the One-day Cup.”

Meanwhile, Ijaz Butt also expressed reservations over the new constitutional draft of the PCB and he claimed the ICC would not accept it because its various clauses were against the democratic set up.

“The elections of the PCB chairman under a democratic system demands the general body as the electoral college, but in the current PCB constitution, the general body has no role,” he lamented.