Former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Lt Gen (retd) Tauqir Zia believes there is no harm in constituting a players association as is the norm in other countries. He also emphasised that if everyone’s viewpoint is duly entertained judiciously, there would be no need of such associations. “There is not harm in forming a players association in Pakistan as well, but I think it’s basically the communication gap which leads to such demands.
The chairman should listen to the perspective of the captain, coach and the manager to avoid disharmony amongst players and the officials,” Tauqir said.He also came down hard on Afridi for taking an aggressive course after his removal from the captaincy, saying that instead of media burst the flamboyant all-rounder should have approached the chairman first. “As Afridi is a very senior cricketer, he should not violate the code of conduct in the first place.
There was no justification for Afridi’s harsh criticism of the PCB,” he added. The PCB removed Afridi from captaincy after his statements against the team management and coach Waqar Younis. The former captain blamed the management for interfering in his job. The former PCB chief also believes that revoking the NOCs by the PCB was harsh and urged the board to lift the suspension. “It is his (Afridi’s) right to play county cricket and other foreign leagues. I believe revoking the NOCs was a bit too much and the request from the former skipper in this regard seems justified,” maintained Zia.
