TSE Exclusive: PCB may put selectors to sword after ODI whitewash

Faisal Adnan February 23, 2012 0

TSE Exclusive: PCB may put selectors to sword after ODI whitewash

ISLAMABAD (The Sports Encounter), February 22, 2012: Selectors at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) feel the heat after a poor performance by the national cricket team in the recently concluded One Day Internationals series against England which the visitors whitewashed.

Sources told The Sports Encounter on Wednesday that the PCB authorities are likely to sack selection panel after searing controversy over selection of Shoaib Malik in the team and thereafter poor show by the team that had routed visitors in the Test matches earlier in the series.

Selection of Imran Farhat is another issue that has raised many eyebrows back home as the left-hand opening batsman simply failed to perform under best batting conditions and presence of his father-in-law, Mohammad Ilyas, in the selection committee as its head thus fans a lot of controversial questions.

Pakistani batsmen found it tough to score runs on batting pitches while fast as well as slower bowlers failed to maintain pressure on the English batsmen who rediscovered their form and confidence to whitewash Pakistan in the ODI series 4-0.

“With the new cricket coach taking field next month, PCB chairman Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf is in favor of a new selection team that would go in accordance with Dav Whatmore and a new captain can also be a result of the recent pounding in the shorter format of the game”, sources told this scribe.

Pakistan’s next One-Day assignment is the Asia Cup cricket tournament which is to be staged in Bangladesh in March 2012.

Sources further stated that Mohsin Hasan Khan is expected to be back as head of the national selection committee but there are some corners in the PCB which are suggesting former chief selector Salahuddin Sallu, who has recently launched his cricketing memoirs.

It is important to mention here that Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf, who was in the United Arab Emirates and watched the games from the stadiums, has already signaled shake-up in the selection panel and PCB set-up.