LAHORE, June 22 Some members of the Governing Board of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have extended their support to the members of the national selection committee who are disappointed over attitude of chief selector Mohsin Khan for not taking them into confidence before announcing the Test squad for the England tour.
Pakistan will play two Tests and two Twenty20 Internationals against Australia and four Tests, five One-day Internationals and two T20s against England on the long tour.
Dawn has learnt that Mohsin, before going to Sri Lanka, had informed the other members of the selection committee that he was going to announce the squad for the two T20 matches against Australia but to their surprise, he also announced the squad for the six Test matches.
Some of the selection committee members were dejected and even ready to resign as a protest, but Governing Board members advised them not to take such an extreme step.
The GB members advised the members of the selection committee to first lodge their protest before PCB chairman Ijaz Butt and apprise him about their grievances. They also advised them to write a letter to the GB members so that they could take up the matter.
Surprisingly, all was happened under the nose of the PCB chairman, who was also in Dambulla for the Asian Cricket Council meeting.
According to sources, Mohsin had consulted his members about each choice for the T20 team and even the second choices in case of receiving any opposition on their selection from the touring selection committee. But he could not defy the touring selection committee's demand tabled in the meeting in Dambulla that Test squad should also be announced simultaneously.
Manager Yawar Saeed, one of the key friends of the PCB chairman, coach Waqar Younis and captain Shahid Afridi are members of the touring selection committee.
Sources told Dawn that in fact Yawar, heading the touring selection committee, had already made the mind to announce the Test squad in Dambulla. And to have their hands clear from any allegation, the touring selection committee made the PCB chairman agreed to invite Mohsin in Sri Lanka.
The tour's selectors believed it could be hard for them to have their weight in the selection had the entire national selection committee met in Pakistan.
Mohsin was also desiring to hold a detailed meeting with his selectors in Lahore, before going to Sri Lanka on June 18, but the PCB chairman did not give him permission at the pretext it was too late.
A Governing Board member was of the view that the entire incident came under the act of indiscipline.
“But if the selectors want the interference of the Governing Board members, they have to apprise them about their grievances in writing so that disciplinary action could be taken against responsible persons,” he said.
In fact it is not the first incident of mismanagement as a series of such events in the PCB has been going on for the last many years as the country's cricket is on constant decline.
