CerealKiller
Staff Member
Statement by PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani
First and foremost, i'd like to congratulate our team on winning both the ODI series and the Test match. I also extend my deepest gratitude to Afghanistan for agreeing to this historic tour, and commend them for their excellent performance on the field.
However, it is impossible to deny that the reports about friction in the dressing room have been extremely distressing and, quite frankly, embarassing. While disagreement is natural, the way it was handled was unbecoming of the Pakistan national team. Therefore, after a thorough inquiry, in which we examined the coaching staff and team leadership's performance and management style, along with their conduct during the past few weeks, we are prepared to make the following announcement.
The board has determined that the coaching staff imposed unreasonable, dictatorial restrictions on the players when off the field. Such methods do not belong in a professional setup at elite international level. Further, when a few members of the team expressed their reservations, the coaching staff did not attempt to resolve the matter by taking the team into confidence. This represents a dereliction of duty and abuse of power. Thus, the board has no choice but to terminate head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younus from their appointments, effective immediately. We thank them for their services and wish them well.
The board is pleased to appoint Mohammad Wasim as the new head coach, Mohammad Yousuf as batting coach, and Mohammad Akram as bowling coach. Rashid Latif will replace Mohammad Wasim as chief selector.
Coming to the team leadership, the board has determined that the Pakistan captain Asad Raza did not take seriously enough the concerns of a big part of the team about the coaching staff's abuse of power, but instead used the divide in the team as leverage, to negotiate a bigger say over selection with the head coach. As captain, he displayed poor leadership in this regard, as opposed to his wonderful performance on the field.
The vice-captain, Umair Nazim, has been determined to have formed a faction within the team to oppose the coaching staff and captain. As a member of the leadership group himself, he should have sought to resolve the situation in an amicable manner, rather than undermining team unity further.
Therefore, the board has imposed a financial penalty on Asad Raza and Umair Nazim, in addition to other players involved, namely Jack Ryder, Maheer Aamir, and Murtaza Ali.
However, keeping in mind the good performance displayed by all the players in the Afghanistan tour, we are giving them a chance to fix the problems in the dressing room and make their country proud in the historic tour to India. Asad Raza and Umair Nazim will remain captain and vice-captain, respectively. They will, however, along with other members of the team, remain under scrutiny by the board.
Finally, from now on, the coaching staff will solely be responsible for training, fitness and improving the technical aspect of team's performance, and disciplinary rules, and any changes to them, will have to be pre-approved by the board. Selection for matches and tactical decisions will solely be the responsibility of the captain and vice-captain, who will have equal say on all such matters.
Chairman, Pakistan Cricket Board
Ehsan Mani
@AsadRM @Umair7 @Till Valhalla @Salman. @ahmedleo414 @Na Maloom Afraad @Murtaza96 @NePtuNe Gaming @RUDI @Naman7
