LAHORE – Former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has said that the Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision of delaying the announcement of captain for the World Cup would trigger bickering in the team. “By not announcing the captain just three weeks before the World Cup, the board has split the players into Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul Haq groups,” Inzamam said.
The former batsman, who represented his country in 120 Tests and 388 ODIs including five World Cup appearances, said the PCB had created an unnecessary crisis over the captaincy issue and it would affect the team in the mega-event starting on February 19 in Dhaka. “I just don’t understand what they are trying to do. In such circumstances I don’t have much high hopes from this team in the coming tournament,” Inzamam was reported to have said. “Human beings are powerless against fate and you can never rule out a miracle from this team. But at the moment it looks to me their fate will be the same as in 2003 and 2007,” he said. The PCB has announced their final World Cup squad but stopped short of naming the captain, a move which did not go well with many former players including team’s chief coach Waqar Younis. While Afridi is presently leading Pakistan in the ODI series in New Zealand, Misbah, who captained the side in the Test matches, is his deputy. Both the players are seen as strong contenders for captaincy in the World Cup and indications are that Afridi’s chances of retaining the position will depend on his and the team’s performance in the ongoing series against New Zealand. Inzamam, who led Pakistan in the last World Cup, said in the existing circumstances he feared for the worst. “I just hope the disappointments of last World Cup is not repeated,” he said.
