Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has expressed disappointment with the decision to remove Mohammad Hafeez as team director while keeping Wahab Riaz as chief selector, criticizing the board for its choice.
Mohammad Hafeez was appointed as the director of the Pakistan cricket team following their disappointing performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup. However, his tenure lasted only three months, during which Pakistan faced a 0-3 Test series whitewash in Australia and a 1-4 defeat in the T20I series against New Zealand.
Former captains and stalwarts deserve the same amount of respect- Inzamam-ul-Haq
Inzamam-ul-Haq criticized the PCB on a TV show, accusing them of unfair treatment towards Mohammad Hafeez compared to Wahab Riaz.
“Can someone explain the reasoning behind removing Muhammad Hafeez as team director but retaining Wahab Riaz as chief selector after the Australian and New Zealand tours? Weren’t both appointed at same time and given the same responsibilities so why has only Hafeez been held accountable and not Wahab Riaz?,” asked Inzamam.
Inzamam-ul-Haq emphasized on the TV show that the PCB should show the same level of respect to former players and captains as they do to the chairman of the board.
“The PCB Chairman no doubt is a highly respectable position but don’t former captains and stalwarts deserve the same amount of respect from the top board officials,” Inzamam added.
Inzamam-ul-Haq resigned from his role as Pakistan selector during the 2023 World Cup due to allegations of conflict of interest. Pakistan faced numerous challenges, including scrutiny over skipper Babar Azam, during their disappointing campaign, which ultimately led to their failure to qualify for the semi-finals.
I was hurt by this behavior from the Chairman- Inzamam-ul-Haq
Inzamam-ul-Haq alleged that former Pakistan chairman Zaka Ashraf treated him disrespectfully during the conflict of interest allegations, which ultimately led to his decision to step down as chief selector. However, Zaka Ashraf stepped down from his position as chairman himself in February, and he was replaced by Moshin Naqvi. Inzamam provided a detailed account of the entire episode during the allegations, stating,
“We had a meeting scheduled at the PCB offices after this story about me having a conflict of interest as chief selector broke out. I was sitting with (PCB officials) Salman Naseer and Aliya Rasheed waiting for the chairman to come. But he went to the academy and from there called Naseer and Aliya to meet him and I was told to wait as he would not be seeing me. Only Aliya returned after a time and told me about the inquiry committee,”
Inzamam added,
“I was hurt by this behavior from the Chairman. Every detail of agents and their companies who work with players are available with ICC and PCB and it was not such a big deal and I told them I would resign and they can complete their inquiry.”
Following the World Cup last year, Pakistan underwent captaincy changes after Babar Azam resigned from the role in all formats. Shan Masood was appointed as the Test captain, Shaheen Afridi took over the T20I captaincy, and the ODI captaincy is yet to be decided.
Also Read: https://goworldwide.co.in/babar-azam-is-very-chill-and-relax-naveen-ul-haq/