Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Zaka Ashraf on Tuesday dismissed reports that Shoaib Malik’s last minute inclusion in the one-day squad for the England series was made under pressure, and he clarified that the decision was taken on the captain’s request. “I would like to get the facts right. There was no players power involved,” said Ashraf. Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik, was not originally named in the ODI and T20 squads, announced by the PCB selectors last month for the England series.
He was included in the team after the Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq, called the PCB top brass after the announcement of squad. Zaka Ashraf confirmed that the Malik’s inclusion was made only after the national skipper called him and requested that the batting all-rounder be sent to the UAE for the limited-overs series.
“The selection committee initially picked the squad for the one-day series without Malik. But Misbah-ul-Haq called me up and told me that he felt Malik should be in the team,” revealed Ashraf, who took over as PCB chairman in October, after Ijaz Butt’s term expired.
“Misbah contended that since he was in the UAE and he knew better than the selectors that Malik could prove to be very useful for the one-day series because of his ability to bowl and also because the pitches were helping spinners,” he added further. The PCB chief claimed that he had discussed Misbah’s request with the selection panel and after a long deliberation it was decided to accept the request, as the board and selectors did not want to receive the blame of unwanted results. He further added that another reason behind Malik’s inclusion in the one-day squad for the England series was to give him a fair chance to press his claims.
