Former coach and Test cricketer Mohsin Khan launched a scathing attacking on the national selection committee after veteran all-rounders Shoaib Malik and Abdul Razzaq were declared unfit for the short series against South Africa and ordered to return home.

According to Khan, not only was the development quite surprising but spoke greatly of the haphazard and unprofessional manner in which affairs of Pakistan cricket were being run.

Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB), however, cleared the air with an official press release which said: “Owing to injuries, Abdur Razzaq and Shoaib Malik have been ruled out of the T20 games and are returning home immediately. The decision was taken by the tour selection committee after consultation with the team’s doctor and a South African doctor. Razzaq suffered from a severe hamstring injury while training day before yesterday while Malik's hand injury was exacerbated because of the travel stress. The tour selection committee has not asked for replacements.”

Both Malik and Razzaq were named in a 15-man squad for the two Twenty20s and three ODIs that Pakistan is scheduled to play on its tour of South Africa. But the news of their withdrawal after the team had landed in South Africa came as a shock for Khan.

“If they (Malik and Razzaq) were unfit all along then why did selectors include them in the team and let them fly,” Khan said in an interview with APP while questioning the fitness-testing mechanism of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Khan was left bemused that the PCB had conducted fitness tests of players after announcing the squads

“I request the PCB to now include youngsters in the squad in place of Malik and Razzaq,” he added.

But he also gave his vote of confidence for the inclusion of veteran batsman and former captain Younis Khan.

“Younis is a very talented player and I feel the blend of youth and experience can make the team formidable,” he said.