Sana Mir returns fire with fire

Says coach Azhar holds grudge due to selection disagreement

KARACHI: Under fire due to her team's abysmal showing at the recent ICC Women's World Cup, Pakistan skipper Sana Mir has launched a robust defence of herself and hinted that she will quit the team if things stay the way they are.

The 31-year-old all-rounder was recently labelled 'self-centered' and 'egotistical' and held responsible for the team's horror showing in a scathing report drafted by coach Sabih Azhar.

But Sana says Azhar's (low) opinion of her stems from a disagreement over the selection of fast bowler Diana Baig, whom the captain wanted in the side but the coach didn't.

"My coordination with the coach suffered when I insisted on playing Diana Baig, who was in absolutely great form," wrote Sana in an open letter. "That was our major disagreement. Diana is talented and was in great form in the WWC 2017 (taking seven wickets in five matches)."

Sana disapproved of the use of the media to instigate a war of words but said she was left with no choice but to respond when coach Azhar made his report public.

"I would have preferred not to have had this conversation through the media but since a confidential report by the coach and comments by GM Women Wing and Chairman PCB have been making headlines, I feel obliged to give a short response to clarify some issues from my point of view," she said.

The Abbottabad native did admit that there may have been faults in her style of leadership but added that the coach could've pointed them out in better ways.

"I am not a perfect captain nor I have claimed it anywhere or we are the perfect team," said Sana. "But I would have appreciated it if the coach would have stood by the team like other coaches did. It's disheartening to see a coach maligning the senior players who have been giving confidence and guidance to youngsters for so long."

Instead of playing the blame game, Sana believes: "We should be talking about cricketing problems we need to address, in a constructive and professional manner."

She also implied that this might be the end of the road for her, with a formal relinquishing of the captaincy expected soon.

"I want to make it clear I don't intend to continue in the future with the current setup of the Women’s Wing in any capacity," said Sana. "Having said that I would still be sharing a detailed report to improve women's cricket [soon]."