Another confidential report leaked in Pakistan cricket

For the second time in a week, another confidential report given to the Pakistan Cricket Board, has been leaked in the media creating a crisis of sorts in the PCB today. A miffed PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan apparently contemplated resignation but was persuaded to stay on by some of his top aides.

“Yes Shaharyar was very upset this morning and came to office and decided to tender his resignation. But his close friend and aide Najam Sethi, who is chairman of the executive board and other top officials, have convinced Khan not to do this as it would create another crisis in Pakistan cricket,” a PCB source told PTI.

Pakistan’s coach Waqar Younis has already slammed the board officials for the leakage of his team report submitted earlier this week.

Waqar, on Thursday, also met with the Sports Minister, Riaz Pirzada, to convey his feelings about the way the board was running cricket affairs.

Pirzada assured the former captain the government would compel the board to hold a proper inquiry into how this report was leaked, and he would also arrange a meeting with the Prime Minister, who is patron in chief of the PCB.

Under-fire Waqar has pinpointed several problems in the national team which recently suffered a string of defeats in T20 internationals including the Asia Cup and World T20.

He directly blamed some players and captain Shahid Afridi for not being sincere towards Pakistan cricket and not giving their best.

Today, the confidential report of team manager Intikhab Alam was also leaked in the media.

In his report the former Test captain has made some strong observations about the state of affairs in the team and described Afridi as an “absolutely clueless” captain.

Afridi, who led Pakistan in the T20 internationals since 2014, has said he is not fit to be captain but wants to carry on playing as a player as he still has few more years of cricket left in him.