LAHORE: Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf who was restrained by the courts early this year from holding office after a controversy over elections, on Saturday expressed concern over the performance of the Pakistan team under Dav Whatmore and also sounded surprised over the meagre punishment given to South African player Faf du Plessis in the recent ball-tampering act.
“Yes, I appointed Whatmore as head coach but on the recommendations of a committee comprising cricket experts like Intikhab Alam and Zaheer Abbas, keeping his past performance with Sri Lankan and Bangladesh team.
“I did not form that committee as it was made by my predecessor Ijaz Butt. I only told the committee to find out the best for the Pakistan team. I think the PCB should sit with Whatmore to find out the reasons why the performance of the coach is not matching his previous record,” Zaka told Dawn in an exclusive interview here on Saturday.
“No doubt, the expectations from Whatmore were high as he had done a good job with the Sri Lankan team in the past,” Zaka said.
Asked if he believed the committee in Whatmore had picked the best man for the job, Zaka said he could not challenge the expertise of great players like Intikhab and Zaheer, but admitted it was true the performance should have been impressive if he was really that good a coach.
Zaka said he also formed a committee comprising Javed Miandad, Intikhab, Zakir Khan and other cricketers to discuss and finalise suitable measures to improve domestic cricket, as he wanted to remain away from the technical issues.
The cricket committee brought in Whatmore in place of Mohsin Khan under whose coaching Pakistan had won three consecutive series against Bangladesh, England and Sri Lanka. Later, however, Pakistan lost the one-day series to England in a manner which raised a lot of eyebrows in the cricketing fraternity.
When reminded that Mohsin had a claim that his team lost the ODI series to England then because someone had hatched a conspiracy against him to expel him from coaching, Zaka categorically denied the impression.
“In fact, after the series against England his (Mohsin’s) contract had expired. Still, I was keen to bring Mohsin to the National Cricket Academy side or somewhere else where his abilities could be utilised. But when Mohsin did not reply to PCB’s call, we thought he was not interested in continuing with us so we did not force him to work beyond that period. I have great respect for Mohsin as he is one of the greatest openers the country has produced.”
Replying on the meagre punishment dished out to South African player du Plessis for tampering with the ball during the second Test against Pakistan in Dubai, Zaka said he fully endorsed the step taken by his successor Najam Sethi who lodged an immediate complaint with the ICC about it.
“I think wrong is wrong, whether it is done by Shahid Afridi or any other player. Tampering with the ball is a clear case of cheating. I think the entire cricketing nation and the ICC should adopt a hard line on this dirty act, whether a player does it for the first time or the sixth,” said Zaka.
“Had the ICC taken strict steps against such practices in the past, the du Plessis incident would never have happened. But since they have not penalised du Plessis heavily, no one knows how many players will attempt such unlawful acts in the future.”
He also praised Sethi for forcefully taking up Mohammad Amir’s case in order to get his ban reduced in the spot-fixing case.
“I am not supporting corruption, but when I was the chairman I also made contacts with the members of other cricket boards to get some relief for Amir, since the ban of five years (in a spot-fixing scam) was harsh for that young boy. Therefore, I also endorse Sethi’s efforts,” he said.
Commenting on captain Misbah-ul-Haq’s performance as leader, Zaka said: “Misbah has great qualities as he is mentally strong with solid nerves which reflects in his decisions on the field. Besides, Misbah is also a great batsman.”
When asked why then did he make Mohammad Hafeez as T20 captain instead of Misbah, Zaka said that was a move to groom a back-up for Misbah for the future.
He said the Pakistan team had earned a lot of achievements under Hafeez’s captaincy as well but, unfortunately, his poor form with the bat had cost him a place in the Test team.
“But I believe Hafeez has tremendous talent and he will make a comeback in Test cricket,” he said.
He also hailed the performance of ex-manager Naveed Akram Cheema who resigned from his job last month and Moin Khan took over.
“Naveed has great qualities as manager and he did a very good job for the PCB. To support Naveed, I also made a vigilance department which also helped a lot in monitoring the activities of the players during the tours,” he said.
To a question he said during Moin Khan’s tenure as manager Pakistan has surprisingly lost a Test and an ODI to a rather weak side of Zimbabwe. However, he said the induction of a good number of young players in the team has also affected the combination of the Pakistan team.
Zaka while elaborating his achievements as PCB chairman said during his tenure no indisciplinary incident occurred in the Pakistan team.
“The PCB also has a democratic constitution now which was approved by the ICC after which Pakistan escaped the ICC’s suspension as the deadline for it was June 30, 2013,” he recalled.
He also complimented the Pakistan team who also won the one-day series against India on the Indian soil. He also defended himself in holding the elections of the PCB in his tenure under the new constitution and imposing ad hoc on various cricket associations.