LAHORE
Pakistan squad is set to leave for the United Arab Emirates for another gruelling series against South Africa but the national team management is yet to submit its report on the England tour and the spot-fixing scandal that rocked international cricket.
A Pakistan Cricket Board official confirmed that the board had not received any tour report up till now from former manager Yawar Saeed or coach Waqar Younis. “Till now we have not received any report from the manager or coach and so far they have also not given us any plausible reason or explanation for the delay in doing this,” PCB’s legal adviser Talib Rizvi said.
The three-month long England tour turned out to be a controversial one for the national team with three players — Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamir and Mohammad Asif – provisionally suspended by the ICC for alleged involvement in spot-fixing.
At the start of the England tour, Shahid Afridi rocked the boat by announcing his retirement from the longer format of the game and relinquishing test captaincy after losing the first test to Australia at the Lords.
Abdul Raquib, manager of the national team on the tour of New Zealand and Australia last winter, said he was surprised to hear that the manager and coach had not submitted their reports as yet. “Normally the manager is supposed to give his report within one week after returning home, whereas the England tour ended on September 22,” he pointed.
The PCB has also come under fire on the same issue from the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports, which also noted at its last hearing that it was strange that the manager had not submitted the report on such an important and controversial tour.
Raquib noted that after the spot-fixing stigma attached to Pakistan cricket, the manager’s report was of utmost importance and significance. “The Board should know why the reports have not been submitted as yet,” he said.
Yawar stepped down as manager of the national team after the tour but Waqar Younis still remains the team coach. When contacted, Yawar declined to shed light on the issue. “I have retired from cricket and now you should ask the Board,” he said. Pakistan team is set to leave for UAE on Saturday.
