Remove Ashraf as PCB chief, Aamir to Musharraf

Lahore, Jul 14 (UNI) Former Pakistan captain Aamir Sohail has asked President Pervez Musharraf, who is also the patron of PCB, to be more proactive and voiced his demand to remove the board chief Nasim Ashraf in order to save the game of cricket from further damage.

Talking to mediapersons here yesterday, Sohail held Ashraf responsible for the massive damage of the game in the country and said the growing controversies associated with the game in Pakistan are all due to the wrong policies of the current chief.

''PCB's new chairman should be a good combination of cricket and administrative knowledge, which are essential to run the affairs of the game,'' Sohail said.

Sohail, who was a former chief selector himself, claimed that Musharraf should take an action at the earliest and claimed that the President was losing credibility in the cricket circles because of his apparent support to Nasim Ashraf.

''The responsibility also lies with the President, who as Patron appointed Dr Nasim Ashraf as the PCB chairman.

''The whole cricketing nation is burning with curiosity as to what action he takes against the man's reckless decisions about Shoaib Akhtar and director cricket operations for World Cup 2011 Saleem Altaf, particularly after the courts gave a decision in the two cases against the board,'' he said.

Sohail strongly pointed out that cricket is a not place for Ashraf and the game belongs to players and the public, while doctors and beurocrats should refrain themselves from the cricketing activities.

''There is no big secret about why you are doing these illegal things. It is because you feel threatened by the true professionals.

Is sacking an honest technocrat just so he is unsupportive of the wrongdoings corporate culture? ''It shows your mindset, that you can only work with incompetent officials who just dance on your tune,'' he remarked.

He said the patron should select the PCB chairman through an advisory board comprising former Test cricketers and experts and the post should also be advertised.

The former left-handed opener further added that the Shoaib Akhtar's case has been handled unprofessionally which has made Pakistan a laughing stock in the world of cricket.

He said Shoaib could have been given a chance to prove his fitness in the field.

Sohail also came hard at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), where he said, the coaching was being provided by ordinary form of cricketers, who are only worried to change the bowling action and batting stance of the cricketers.

''The NCA coaches emphasise more on theory rather than encouraging natural talent to flow,'' he added.

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