Saturday, June 13, 2009

Pakistan selector resigned over meddling


The chairman of Pakistan's cricket selectors said Friday he resigned from the post earlier this week because of "unacceptable" interference by the squad's coach and captain.

Abdul Qadir, who had been appointed to the post only six months ago, also told a news conference he would not have chosen Younus Khan, who is currently playing with the squad in the Twenty20 tournament in England, as captain.

"When I was appointed chief selector I was told that I will be allowed to work freely but that was not the case, so I quit as interference was not acceptable to me," Qadir told a news conference.

The 53-year-old former leg-spinner announced his resignation Monday and his decision was immediately accepted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which has yet to announce his replacement.

Qadir said the PCB had not accepted his selections, nor his proposal that Pakistan should have two captains, one each for the Test and limited-overs teams.

"I would never have selected Younus Khan in World Twenty20 and would have chosen young Twenty20 expert players," said Qadir.

Reports in Pakistan's media suggested Qadir and Younus were not on speaking terms since Younus replaced Shoaib Malik as captain in February this year.

Qadir said he would also have ousted Malik from the team.

"What I noticed was that there was some politics between Malik and Younus during the series in the UAE (United Arab Emirates), so I would have ousted Malik from the team as well," said Qadir.

He said the PCB took arbitrary decisions without consulting the selection committee and that "the captain (Younus) and coach (Intikhab Alam) were given the powers to have their say in picking 15 players.

"So there was no use to having a selection committee," Qadir said, adding he would never again accept an offer to work for the PCB under its current set-up.

Pakistan play their first Super Eight match in the Twenty20 tournament against Sri Lanka in London later Friday.

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