LAHORE: Yet another cricketing controversy has come to the fore, involving the son of a former Test cricketer for getting support from his father to get a place in the national team.

This time, chief selector of the national senior team selection committee Inzamam-ul-Haq and the chief selector of the national junior selection committee Basit Ali are involved.

More interestingly, it is another former chief selector Abdul Qadir who triggered this controversy, claiming that Basit told him that Inzamam had asked him to include his son Ibtisam-ul-Haq in the national junior team.

Inzamam and Basit, though, are denying Qadir’s claims. Inzamam’s time-tested friend Mohammad Yousuf has also spoken in his support.

In a video clip, Inzamam has demanded the PCB chairman Ehsan Mani to initiate an inquiry and take action against him if he’s proved guilty. Inzamam is to meet the PCB chairman who will be in Lahore on Thursday.

“I strongly refute this unfounded and malicious claim,” Inzamam wrote in a tweet. “For the record, no one from junior selection committee was approached and there is no truth in this. I am taking this matter quite seriously and will be meeting PCB chairman for an open inquiry on this matter tomorrow.”

Basit struck a similar note. “I would request the PCB chairman to investigate this issue in order to ensure that people who are spreading such news are punished,” he said.

Yousuf also called for an inquiry and said “it would prove Inzamam is right in his statement.”

It may be mentioned that Inzamam has been faced with criticism since the time he selected his nephew Imam-ul-Haq in the national team. Imam, however, has produced good performances on the field to prove his critics wrong.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2018

Opinion

Editorial

Back in parliament
Updated 27 Jul, 2024

Back in parliament

It is ECP's responsibility to set right all the wrongs it committed in the Feb 8 general elections.
Upholding rights
27 Jul, 2024

Upholding rights

EVEN a perceived threat to civil rights and freedom of expression undermines democracy; it impedes the enforcement ...
Brutal crime
27 Jul, 2024

Brutal crime

THE horrific incident of a woman allegedly gang-raped in front of her husband and three-year-old daughter near...
Judicial constraints
Updated 26 Jul, 2024

Judicial constraints

The fact that it is being prescribed by the legislature will be questioned, given the political context.
Macabre spectacle
26 Jul, 2024

Macabre spectacle

Israel knows that regardless of the party that wins the presidency, America’s ‘ironclad’ support for its genocidal endeavours will continue.