LAHORE, Oct 14: Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad on Tuesday advised the new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to follow the principles of “country and performance first” in all his decisions, and said the players were more responsible for the recent defeats rather than coach Geoff Lawson.
“Strict implementation of rules is the key to overcome all the challenges faced by Pakistan cricket at the moment,” Miandad told Dawn.
He said a lot of damage had been done to the national cricket in the past due to indiscipline in the board’s management and among the players.
“Now is the time for the new chairman to take action against the culprits without making any exceptions,” he said. “In the past, influential players and some PCB officials got away with lot of violations because the rules and regulations were never applied in a fair manner.”
Lauding the new chairman’s appointment in PCB, Minadad said: “Ijaz Butt is a good choice because at least he is a cricketing personality, having played Test cricket and performed as LCCA president and Punjab Cricket Association chief besides being a former Pakistan Cricket Board secretary,” he said.
“A strict person at the helm can put the national cricket on the right path,” he hoped.
Asked to comment on the performance and future of Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson, Miandad said the PCB should first analyse the performance of the players rather than blame the coach. “The coach can only guide the players. It is the players who are supposed to perform on the field and win matches for the country. But see how inconsistent the players have been,” he lamented.
“If the last 10 innings are taken into consideration, none of our top players have fired on all cylinders and their showing has been below par,” said Miandad.
Referring to the recent Twenty20 tournament in Canada which Pakistan lost to Sri Lanka, he said no national player could impress with either bat or ball.
Miandad said the people who now were talking about the poor performance of Lawson should have spoken out much earlier when he was appointed. “When Lawson was appointed I had pointed out that Dav Whatmore could have been a better choice due to his past achievements and I still believe that.”