Voices from Pakistan in selection of players

Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik on Wednesday expressed disappointment at being dropped from Twenty20 and Test squads against New Zealand, clamouring for answers from the cricket board.
A separate squad will be announced for six One-day Internationals. Chief selector Mohsin Khan said Kamran, Malik and Kaneria — all under suspicion of spot or match-fixing — had not been cleared by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Yousuf was left out for lack of fitness, he said.
Kamran claimed he had been cleared of any corruption. “I am disappointed at being left out, because I passed an email from the ICC to the PCB last month which cleared my name for selection, so I should know why my name was excluded,” Kamran, 28, told AFP from the town of Sialkot.
But he has since featured in domestic matches, hitting his highest first-class score of 268 last month.
Malik also told AFP he was disappointed at being excluded. “I am really disappointed,” he said. “I have performed well in the domestic season. Throughout my 11-year career I have never been involved in any wrongdoing and was not even in the team when all those (fixing) allegations were levelled,” said Malik.
[Courtesy The News International]

Pakistan’s cricket chiefs are unwilling to disclose the exact reason why they continue blocking the reentry of senior players like former captain Shoaib Malik and wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal in the national team.
Malik and Kamran were overlooked for the tour of New Zealand when the national selectors announced the Twenty20 and Test squads on Tuesday. Also ignored was experienced leggie Danish Kaneria, Pakistan’s most successful Test spinner.
When contacted, chief selector Mohsin Khan said that the trio failed to receive clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). A PCB spokesman declined to comment on the issue.
PCB’s silence on the issue is only adding fuel to fire.
There have been reports suggesting that the PCB has blacklisted the three players because of suspicions that they could be involved in match-fixing.
Other reports have claimed that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has directed the PCB against selecting these players. Both the ICC and the PCB deny it.
Sources, however, told ‘The News’ that reports suggesting that the three players are match-fixing suspects are not off the mark.
According to the well-placed sources, PCB has its suspicions but doesn’t have any proof against the players.
“The thing is that the PCB has suffered big headaches because of controversies related to spot-fixing that it has decided to be extra careful,”said an insider. “After what happened in England last summer, the Board is unwilling to take any chances and wants to keep any player with a question mark over his integrity out of the national team,”he added.
Pakistan were hit hard during their tour of England last summer when three of their key players — Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir — were suspended by the ICC following allegations of corruption.
Asif and Amir were accused bowling deliberate no-balls on the instructions of match-fixers.
The episode forced the ICC to issue an ultimatum to the PCB last October to get its house in order or face sanctions.
“Since that ultimatum, the PCB has become really cautious and wants to avoid any more scandals,”said a source.
[Courtesy The News International]

Pakistan opener Imran Farhat has decided to serve a legal notice on Mazhar Majeed, the London-based bookmaker, who has alleged that four more players are involved in spot-fixing.
Farhat one of the four named by Majeed in a video shown on Geo News channel on Tuesday said he was appalled by the bookmaker’s claims.
“Majeed is neither my agent nor I am involved in any wrongdoing,” Farhat said.
The left-handed opener was named alongwith Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz and Kamran Akmal by Majeed as the players who work for him.
The three others, Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif has been already suspended by the International Cricket Council after Majeed in an earlier video in August claimed they had taken bribes to do spot fixing in the fourth Test against England at Lords.
“His claims have really upset me because I have always played clean cricket.
“I am suing him for an apology and damages and also to clear my reputation,” Farhat said.
Farhat said he had a reputation in international cricket being a Pakistan player and Majeed with his unsubstantiated claims had basically indulged in character assassination.
“I will not stand for this I don’t know about the others but I have decided to sue him and I am consulting my lawyers,” Farhat said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board on Wednesday refused to comment on the new video footage of Mazhar Majeed while legal advisor, Tafazzul Rizvi also declined to make any comment.
The national selectors on Tuesday dropped Farhat for the tour to New Zealand and the opener said that he was disappointed but would continue to perform in domestic cricket and try to win back his place in the side.
Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal also slammed Majeed for his claims.
“He was just our agent and I don’t know why he is making these claims. If he is involved in bookmaking I don’t know anything about that,” Akmal said.
The footage is likely to increase pressure on Pakistani cricket, which has been plunged into a series of crises.
In October, the ICC told the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to take strict measures to curb corruption and threatened sanctions if it failed to do so.
As a result, the PCB introduced a new code of conduct for players, with stricter
punishments for any wrongdoing.
The PCB has not cleared Kamran, Shoaib Malik and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria — all reportedly under suspicion of corruption — for team selection.
[Courtesy The News International]

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is unhappy with the International Cricket Council’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) as the Pakistan team hasn’t been given enough matches against top sides like India, Australia and England.
According to reports, PCB has expressed its concerns after knowing that the team will mostly be playing against lower-ranked sides in the next FTP.
The board believes that Pakistan is among the major Test-playing nations and should get a fair share of matches against the top teams.
Meanwhile, the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) met in Dubai and made significant progress towards finalising the FTP Test and ODI league schedules. They have also begin the process of drawing up rules, regulations and a points system for the leagues.
According to an ICC media release on Wednesday, the CEC agreed to reconstitute its working group comprising David Collier (England and Wales Cricket Board), Nishantha Ranatunga (Sri Lanka Cricket), N Srinivasan (Board of Control for Cricket in India), James Sutherland (Cricket Australia) and David Richardson (ICC General Manager-Cricket) to consider the rules, regulations and points system for the new leagues.
They will report back in January 2011. “With the ODI league commencing immediately after the ICC World Cup 2011, the committee will confirm the rules at its February 2011 meeting. There was excitement during the meeting when we realized the interest which, these leagues will create,” ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said.
[Courtesy The News International]

For me it'd take some time to digest them.