LAHORE – Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ijaz Butt on Monday made it clear that the captain of national cricket team would be announced this week. Reports received here from Napier said that Ijaz Butt after meeting the team management and other players said that the captain for the Pakistan’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 would most probably be announced in three days.
Ijaz Butt, who was in New Zealand to take stock of the situation arising out of the board’s decision to withhold the captain’s name, was talking to reporters in Napier. The World Cup will start in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh from February 19 and Pakistan is the only team which is yet to have captain for the mega event.
Ijaz Butt refrained from naming the captain in the press conference. The Sports Encounter claimed that the board was going to retain Shahid Khan Afridi, also known as Boom Boom Afridi, as captain for the World Cup. “We will announce the captain on February 4 that is decided now,” he said. Sources further stated that during his tour, Ijaz Butt held several meetings with senior players and team management and after resolving all the issues it was decided that Afridi will be kept as captain.
Interestingly, Ijaz Butt also revealed that Pakistan will play a short series against India in England sometime this year after the BCCI showed its willingness to play with Pakistan. “We have made good ground in talks with the Indian board to resume bilateral cricket ties and they have indicated they are willing to resume ties,” Butt revealed.
