KARACHI, June 12: The ad hoc committee of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) came under a scathing attack from one of the game’s legends, Imran Khan, for mishandling fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar which prevented Pakistan from winning their first Test series in the West Indies recently.
The cricketer-turned-politician told Dawn on Sunday that the PCB’s decision was detrimental to Pakistan cricket.
“Shoaib should have gone to the West Indies since I believe the best team should be selected. Shoaib himself indicated he was fit enough to play and that should have been the end of it,” Imran said.
“A player like Shoaib needs to be handled properly. And if a player had to be disciplined, it’s done on tour. Pakistan sorely missed a strike bowler especially since Mohammad Sami was ruled out with injury.”
Imran, who skippered Pakistan to World Cup glory in 1992, expressed his disappointment at Pakistan’s failure to win the Caribbean series for the first time.
“It was a golden opportunity for Pakistan to win the Test series against a side which has been struggling at the near bottom of the Test standings for a long time. The present West Indies team is mediocre because apart from (Brian) Lara, it has no world-class player,” he observed.
Imran, who led Pakistan to their last Test victory in West Indies prior to the latest triumph with 11 wickets in the first Test at Georgetown in 1988, singled out Younis Khan, the current Pakistan vice-captain, for special praise.
“Younis was the difference in both recent Test victories. His batting in Bangalore (267 and 84 not out) against India was quite superb which paved the way for Pakistan win. Had he not scored century (106) in the first innings, Pakistan could not have won the final Test in Kingston to square the series.
“Personally, I have not met Younis. But what I’ve heard from other players in the team compelled me to declare him as a captaincy material since he is selfless and a team man to the core.”
Imran noted with concern the inordinate delay in making of the new PCB constitution. “Making a constitution is no rocket science. It should not have taken more than three months to put in place a constitution. The game is run by ad hoc committees for a long time. One can imagine the damage they have done to cricket.
“Moreover, because of ad hocism, there is no accountability whatsoever in the cricket board since things are being run without a proper system. It’s high time the audit of PCB accounts is carried out by an independent body because the public have the right to know where the vast sums of money generated by the board were being spent,” Imran commented.
The former captain denied making any adverse comments to the PCB about Hasib Ahsan being proposed as manager for the recent tour of India.
“I never said anything to anyone against Hasib. In fact, I have a lot of respect for Hasib because he is a forthright and honest person,” Imran clarified.
Reiterating his support for regional cricket, Imran urged the cricket managers to curtail the first-class teams to make up for lack of playing grounds. “There should be no more than seven teams competing since there aren’t enough grounds to stage matches. The remaining regions should be accommodated in the non-first-class tournament. To make it more competitive, there must be a promotion/relegation system every season.
“The need of the hour is to put a proper structure in place. Just because we have performed reasonably in the last two series doesn’t mean that the PCB can sit idle and let the current system run on.
“Look at Australia. They are dominating world cricket because they have a very strong first-class system in which only six states participate. People will be surprised to know there are more grounds in Sydney than the whole of Pakistan. But that does not mean that Australia should have more teams playing first-class cricket.”
Meanwhile, Imran warned Pakistan not to take England lightly in the winter home series.
“Pakistan should be preparing for that series well in advance. The last time England played in Pakistan, they won the Test series. England are a pretty good side. That will be first serious challenge for us since the Indians visited here last year.”
He backed Australia to retain the Ashes in the forthcoming series. “As far as I know Australia will start as hot favourites since they are a formidable unit capable of coming from behind. However, England at home have probably their best chance for years to seriously challenge the Aussies.”