4:50pm Monday 15th February 2010
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt has resisted calls from the country’s politicians to take further action against all-rounder Shahid Afridi for ball tampering.
Afridi, Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain, was banned for two matches by the International Cricket Council after being caught biting the ball during the final one-day international against Australia in Perth last month.
Butt has come in for criticism following Pakistan’s defeats in the all the Tests, one-day and Twenty20 matches on their tour of Australia.
At a meeting of the senate standing committee on sports, senators demanded Butt take more action against Afridi.
”If Afridi bites the ball like an apple there are lots of problems behind it,” Senator Haroon Akhtar said.
”If you don’t take action this will happen again.
”The team lacks discipline and you (Butt) have to rectify the problem.”
Butt, however, is reported to have told the committee that ICC rules prevent him from imposing further sanctions against the all-rounder.
”The ICC has told us clearly that you cannot punish a player twice for one offence,” Butt said.
”Their lawyer has also suggested that if we handed more punishment to Afridi and he challenges it in court, the PCB would be in trouble.”
Meanwhile, former Test batsman Mudassar Nazar has called for senior players Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf to be sacked following a verbal spat between the two which is being played out on national television.
Yousuf, who had captained Pakistan during the rout in Australia, had blamed Malik for the divisions in the team.
Malik has denied those allegations and threatened to “expose” Yousuf.
”Both players are under central contract and should not have been allowed to behave in such a way in front of the whole world,” Nazar said.
”What sort of an example are they setting for the younger players with this kind of behaviour?
”Both Malik and Yousuf should be made an example of and kicked out of the team.”
The PCB have formed a committee to probe reasons for the team’s debacle in Australia.
Wasim Akram, one of the six members on the committee, believes Pakistan’s problems would be set right if a strong coach was appointed.
”What Pakistan needs is a passionate coach who is more involved with the boys and can form an effective strategy for the team,” Akram said.
”A good coach, foreign or local, with a high energy level is needed in modern cricket.”
The PCB have installed Malik as captain for Pakistan’s two-match Twenty20 series against England in Dubai starting later this week.
Coach Intikhab Alam, however, was not sent with the team and former batsman and coach of the under-19 team Ijaz Ahmed was installed in charge instead.
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