Butt outclasses Afridi and Miandad

PCB chief Ijaz Butt survived in the crucial round of politics on Tuesday against two former captains, Shahid Afridi and Javed Miandad, when a meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari that was supposed to pave the way for Afridi’s return to the Pakistan team, ended without any discussion on the subject. An apparently disappointed Afridi left Bilawal House without speaking to the media after the meeting also attended by various sportspersons, including Butt, Afridi, Miandad and another former captain Moin Khan.
An adviser on sports in Sindh, Haleem Adil Sheikh and majority of the news channels said the president, who was also the chief patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), had also granted Afridi some time to discuss his problems with the board, specifically Ijaz Butt.
It was earlier assumed that in the meeting, the president would ask Afridi to take back his retirement decision and the senior player would oblige and make his return to the national team.
Unfortunately for Afridi and his supporters nothing transpired at the meeting that was beneficial for the former captain as according to the reports quoting sources, the president solely concentrated on how the sports fraternity could help the government in raising funds for the flood victims in Sindh.
“During the meeting, Haleem Adil did try to bring up the issue of Afridi having some complaints against Butt and the board but President Zardari just smiled and ignored his comment,” a witness said. “Even Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan tried to bring up Afridi’s issue but the president ignored her too and kept on talking about charity matches for the flood victims,” he added.
“After the group meeting, the president left without speaking to anyone individually, including Afridi,” he said.
Afridi, in the recent past, has repeatedly said he is keen to play for Pakistan again and there is pressure growing on him from his fans and supporters to make himself available for the national team. Appearing on a television channel before the meeting Afridi was asked if he would take back his retirement decision, if told to do so by the president, Afridi said he himself wanted to play for Pakistan again but would do so only if he would not have to compromise with his self-respect.
Afridi announced his retirement in protest after he was removed as captain by PCB chief Butt after the West Indies tour in May this year. But after having gone to court against the board, Afridi had to withdraw his case and face disciplinary proceedings before he was fined Rs 4.5 million by the board for breaching the code of conduct. Thereafter, the board granted him the NOC to go and play in England. The witness said no discussion was held on Miandad’s complaints against Butt either.
“If anything appears as if the president plans to give Butt an extension as chairman of the board when his term expires next month. One can safely say that the president appears to have full confidence in Butt’s ability to manage cricket affairs,” he said.
Miandad was later asked by the media if he had discussed with the president, the problems he was having with Butt, the former captain insisted that all the problems would be resolved with time.