Coach served showcause notice over remarks

PCB demands explanation over statements made by former captain.

KARACHI: Pakistan coach Waqar Younis has been served a showcause notice by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over his remarks about the board’s decision to delay naming the captain. After the Test series win against New Zealand, Younis expressed surprise that the PCB did not name the captain when it announced a 15-man squad for the World Cup, saying it will only lead to issues among the players.

Taking notice of his statement, the PCB sent a letter seeking explanation over the coach’s remarks.

“We have sought an explanation from him [Younis] for his irresponsible statement,” PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar told The Express Tribune. “He breached the code of conduct of his contract with the PCB by giving unnecessary statements.”



Meanwhile, Mohsin Khan defended the selection committee’s decision to delay naming the captain for the World Cup and said it was upto the PCB to take a final decision on the issue.

The chief selector and the committee were taken to task by former cricketers who said that the delaying tactic would only harm the team.

“Choosing or announcing the captain is not in my domain,” Khan told The Express Tribune. “Since the PCB has to decide on the captain, I cannot comment on it.”

Khan, also a former Test player, however, defended the PCB and believed the decisions taken by the board in the past few months are yielding results.

“The PCB is taking the decisions for the benefit of the team without caring for any criticism,” said Khan.

“And they have now started to pay off which can be gauged from the team’s performance in the Test series against New Zealand.”

The chief selector added that naming Misbahul Haq as the Test captain surprised cricket followers but the recent results have justified the PCB’s action.

“Naming Misbah as captain drew a lot of criticism but it has proved beneficial for the team. Pakistan levelled Tests against South Africa and now we have finally won a series after a long time.”

Meanwhile, Khan hoped Pakistan will perform even better in the upcoming One-Day Internationals against New Zealand.

“The Test series victory and the return of Shahid [Afridi] and Kamran [Akmal] will definitely give a boost to the side in the ODIs.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2011.