Karachi, Aug 7 (Inditop.com) The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is expected to bring about major changes in the national team management following a disastrous tour of Sri Lanka.
According to sources in the PCB, it has been decided to sack the team’s manager and assistant manager while the coach and captain have a lot of explaining to do once the team returns home from Sri Lanka Aug 13.
Pakistan lost the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka 0-2 last month. It is the first time ever that Pakistan has lost a Test series in Sri Lanka. A similar story was repeated in the One-day international with the hosts winning the first three games convincingly.
Apart from the poor performance of the players during the tour, another reason why the team management finds itself in problem are reports that bookmakers tried to contact the Pakistani players in Galle and Colombo during the Test series. The incidents were confirmed initially by team manager Yawar Saeed, who later denied after getting a dressing down from the PCB top brass.
Yawar, 73, is a close friend of PCB chairman Ijaz Butt which is why he was chosen as the national team manager earlier this year. However, his failure to deal with sensitive issues has made it clear that he is not the right man for the job, said a source in the PCB.
According to the source, Yawar has been asked to step down as manager after the conclusion of the tour of Sri Lanka. Similarly, assistant manager Mohammad Ahmed has also been asked to quit the post.
Some influential officials in the PCB governing board are also gunning for the resignation of Intikhab Alam, the team’s coach. They are of the view that Intikhab has failed to deliver the goods in Sri Lanka and should pay for his team’s poor showing during the series.
Some critics believe that captain Younis Khan is also responsible for the spate of defeats in Sri Lanka as he has failed to unite the team even after a stunning title-winning triumph in the ICC World Twenty20 championship in England last month.
Sources, however, said that the fate of the duo will be decided after Butt holds separate meetings with Intikhab and Younis next week. The PCB chairman has also asked the coach and captain to submit separate reports on the tour.