Former Pakistani cricketers have condemned the Pakistan Cricket Board’s chief, Ijaz Butt’s move of sackingShahid Afridi from the One-Day International captaincy.
The chief replaced Afridi with the senior batsman and Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq for two ODIs, againstIreland, to be played at the end of this month.
Afridi recently led his team to a 3-2 victory in the five-match One-Day series against West Indies.
Although, he himself did not give any considerable bowling and batting performance, under his leadership theGreen Shirts displayed remarkable teamwork.
"This decision of Ijaz Butt will only fan more groupings in the team," former Chairman of the board, Lt General (retd) Tauqir Zia said.
The former chairman also added that there was no logic in removing Afridi despite his success in the ODI series and the way he led his side to the semi-finals of International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2011.
Butt also refused to give any satisfactory explanation on his decision. According to expert views, the chairman issued the notice to Afridi after the latter made public his row with team management during theWest Indies tour.
The Pakistani team has faced several captaincy issues, the board was deliberating on the matter even when the World Cup 2011 was at hand. The Pakistani captain was announced after the squad was made public.
Apart from Zia, the former chief selector and Test spinner, Iqbal Qasim, also expressed that changing captains frequently is proof of the board’s inconsistent policies.
In addition, the former leg-spinner Abdul Qadir also believes that the decision was made in a hurry.
Moreover, the former left-hand pacer, Wasim Akram, has also condemned the appointment of Misbah as the ODI captain, saying that the 36-year-old has no future.
Former chief selector, Salahuddin Ahmed, also voiced his concern regarding the PCB becoming a one man show.
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