Former Pakistan batsman Javed Miandad on Sunday advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) not to rush into preparations for the series with India in Sri Lanka this December as according to him “India could not be trusted to keep its commitment”.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials had been continuously changing their stance on the matter and they might again back out at any moment, he said.
PCB has been pursuing BCCI to honour its commitment under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) in return for their support for the ‘Big Three’ set-up in the International Cricket Council (ICC) and play a (Pakistan’s) home series, but the Indian counterparts have been avoiding on one pretext or the other.
After consensus between the two boards to play the series in Sri Lanka, the PCB have got approval from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and now the ball is in BCCI’s court.
Miandad said first the Indian board seemed ready to play the series and when the PCB got the government’s approval the BCCI officials started hyping that they required their government’s permission.
“What kind of attitude has been adopted by India? It is always India that has created problems for cricketing ties between the two countries,” said the former great.
Miandad said the BCCI officials wanted to get things done their way, but such stubborn attitude was unacceptable.
“Despite their commitment, the PCB officials tried their best to settle the matter with mutual understanding,” he said.
The 58-year-old said he was not sure that India would play the series as ‘they had always tried to let down Pakistan’.
He said the PCB should not be in hurry.
“Both the PCB and the Sri Lanka Cricket (board) must first get India’s consent in black and white and if they back out of the agreement then they should be penalised,” said Miandad.
Arrangements for the series, Miandad said, should be made after India’s written commitment.
Speaking about the third T20 match with England on Monday, he said the coach and management should not tinker with the team combination for the final game of the tour.
“I don’t know why Waqar Younis kept Ahmed Shahzad out of the first T20. It’s time to stop experiments and start planning for the T20 World Cup next year.”
Miandad said had skipper Shahid Afridi played sensibly in the second T20 Pakistan would have won it.
“A six or four cannot be hit on every ball and a batsman should know it, but why doesn’t he understand this?” he questioned.
He urged the selectors to monitor the domestic games for talented players.
“By picking up players for one or two matches and then discarding them shatters their confidence,” added Miandad.
