A cloud of uncertainty hovers over Intikhab Alam’s future role in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after the former Test captain and coach committed some glaring errors while finalising the list of players who were awarded central contracts and retainers.
The PCB released the much-awaited list of central contracts last month and found itself in an embarrassing situation after media highlighted the omissions of pace spearheads, Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Talha from the central contracts list and inclusion of the banned Bismillah Khan in the stipend category. In addition to the 21 contracted players, the PCB had also named 21 players to get a stipend. “PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf was not happy with the criticism in media about central contracts and retainers for the year 2012. He was of the view that a good deed and positive work of the board had gone down the drain due to some major bloopers,” reported quoting sources said. The source said that initial investigation has revealed that PCB’s Director of International Cricket Affairs Intikhab, who headed the committee that finalised and recommended the list of players to be given contracts and retainers, had kept the list secret till the last moment.
“Inquiry confirmed that Intikhab had kept the list a secret till the eleventh hour and also did not bother to have a final discussion on it with other members of the committee including chief selector, Iqbal Qasim,” the source said.
He said when the chief selector was approached for his comments, he made it clear that he was not involved in the final talks. “The chairman has now given the task of reviewing the list once again to former Test captain Javed Miandad. He will now review the list to see who all deserve the contracts and retainers,” another source said. He said the presence of Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Abdul Rehman in the category ‘A’ list of central contracts has also raised eyebrows in the board.
Rehabilitation process of Amir starts
Pakistan paceman Mohammad Amir attended his first session of rehabilitation under renowned psychologist and hypnotist, Maqbool ‘Max’ Babri. “Yes, Mr Amir, how can I help you?” were the first words Babri uttered to Amir at the clinic in Defence. Following International Cricket Council’s (ICC) instructions, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) identified Babri as the man to guide the paceman in his rehabilitation. Confirming that Amir was very relaxed and co-operative during the two-hour session that began at 10 am (local time), Babri said, “Amir took the responsibility of the wrongdoing (spot fixing) and didn’t blame anyone for the mess he is in right now.” According to Babri, the young player looked positive during the interaction. “During our long session, I only listened to what he had to say rather than questioning him on the contentious issue of spot fixing. I was impressed by his positive attitude,” Babri said. It is learnt that Amir has expressed willingness to teach youngsters in his neighbourhood the art of fast bowling and how to resist to temptations after reaching a competitive level. “He will also study further by appearing for his intermediate examinations soon,” said Babri. Amir cleared his matriculation examination with a first-class. Babri is still not clear about how many sessions he will have with the bowler, but wants him to undergo a few sessions of hypnotism too. “Amir feels that the ICC has treated him fairly and expects them to judge him favourably as he is making efforts to make a comeback. He is also thankful to the PCB for its support,”said Babri.
