Aggrieved Basit Ali quits PCB post

New MC member Shakil Sheikh raises allegations against former player, Sohail.

KARACHI:

Former Test player and SNGPL head coach Basit Ali has resigned from the post of Coach Regional Cricket Academies Karachi after Islamabad Regional Cricket Association president and member of the newly installed Management Committee (MC) Shakil Sheikh called him a ‘bookie’.

Sheikh had claimed that Ali used to run a book in Karachi on cricket matches and he was a bookie. The IRCA official had also termed Ali ‘the don of Karachi cricket’.

Sheikh later reaffirmed his stance while speaking to The Express Tribune.

“He used to run a book in Karachi, which is true,” he said.

It was not the end of levelling allegations by Sheikh, who also went on to label former captain and the Zaka Ashraf-appointed Director Game Development and Chief Selector Aamir Sohail as a corrupt individual who used to charge a fee for fielding Lahore players in first-class cricket.

However, those comments have not gone down well with Ali, who has decided to take Sheikh into court over the remarks.

“I’ve decided to step down in the wake of Sheikh’s comments,” Ali told The Express Tribune.

“I’ll be pursuing a defamation case, since serious allegations have been levelled against me. Sheikh would have to prove all those allegations otherwise I’ll seek a heavy compensation from him for bringing my name into disrepute.

“I’m still living in a rented house and coaching SNGPL, had I been a ‘don’, I wouldn’t have had to go through such hardships.”

‘PM Sharif should take notice of Sheikh’s remarks’

The veteran cricketer urged Patron Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take notice of Sheikh’s remarks.

It is not the first time Sheikh has been seen hurling criticism against the stars of Pakistan cricket, as previously he had called Test and One-Day International skipper Misbahul Haq a ‘jackal’.

“Sheikh has been foul-mouthing against the stars of Pakistan cricket which isn’t a good thing,” he said. “It isn’t only against Aamir and I, Sheikh had also called Misbah a jackal, which reflects his mind-set.

“Sharif should seriously take notice of Sheikh’s remarks, otherwise it’ll set a wrong trend and anybody will stand up in the future to malign both current and former cricketers without any proof. Rashid Latif and I jeopardised our careers and stood up against corrupt practices.”

Sohail to decide future after meeting Sethi

On another day full of off-field antics, it was revealed that Sohail, appointed chief selector and director game development, would review his position in the aftermath of Zaka Ashraf’s removal and Najam Sethi’s reinstatement as PCB chairman. Sohail is expected to meet Sethi on Tuesday and discuss his future, while Moin Khan, who was serving the Pakistan team as manager, could now be appointed as the new chief selector.

It should be mentioned here that Ashraf had taken some quick decisions after his restoration last month. Days after removing the board’s legal advisor Taffazul Rizvi he removed Moin as manager, replacing him with Director International Cricket Zakir Khan.

Former Test batsman Mohammad Ilyas was made chief selector for the junior’s and women’s cricket, while Sohail was brought in and Intikhab Alam made the director domestic cricket.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 11^th, 2014.

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