Fed up of disputes over authority between the national team’s players and management, the Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to organise special lectures for them to ensure there is no wrangling over responsibilities and powers. A PCB source said the board’s governing body has advised Chairman Ijaz Butt to take steps to ensure the captain, coach and the manager are clear about their job profiles.
“The governing body was not happy with the dispute that erupted between former captain, Shahid Afridi and coach, Waqar Younis on the West Indies tour over selection issues and felt this could have been the result of their job descriptions not being communicated to them properly,” the source said.
He said the PCB has now decided to have special lectures delivered to the captain, coach, manager and players before their next tour abroad. Intikhab Alam admitted there were disputes between Afridi and Waqar and this had a bad effect on the team. “I think there needs to be better communication among the management and with players and a better understanding of job responsibilities,” Intikhab said.
“There have been instances where players have tried to interfere in management work which is not good,” he added. Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has also called for better coordination between the players, management and board to avoid disputes in future. Afridi and Waqar clashed during the one-day series in the West Indies over selection issues. Intikhab confirmed the dispute arose over selection of few players in the last two one-day internationals that eventually Pakistan lost and Afridi also walked out of team meetings after arguments with the coach. “The differences were only over selection issues otherwise there is no problem in the team,” he added.
The source said the governing body had said strict action should be taken against any member of the tour selection committee who oversteps his authority. The tour selection committee comprises of captain, vice-captain, coach and manager with the latter holding veto power in all matters. “The policy of tour selection committee will be followed by whatever the majority on the committee decides: that will be the final decision,” the source added.
