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Hanif blames Inzamam and Ramiz for Toronto holdup

By Our Sports Reporter

16 September 1997


KARACHI, Sept 15: Former captain Hanif Mohammad on Monday said Inzamamul Haq was as responsible as Ramiz Raja in the ugly face-off with a megaphone wielding spectator during the second match of the Sahara Cup in Toronto on Sunday.

``If that spectator was continuously creating problems for Inzamam, the least the player should have done was to ask his captain to change his fielding position,'' Hanif, who has seen many of similar incidents in his 18-year career, said. ``Spectators come to watch and enjoy cricket. During that period, some abuse and some appreciate. These are all part and parcel of the game and the players should understand this.'' Hanif, however, said if Inzamam didn't come to the captain, Ramiz should have himself taken the decision to place some other fielder there. ``A captain is supposed to keep a close eye on all his fielders. Moreover, that spectator must have caught Ramiz's attention because that enclosure was the noisiest. ``It is very sad that Ramiz couldn't take the appropriate decision which led to a scuffle.''

Hanif said Ramiz Raja was also responsible for allowing Inzamam to leave the field. ``How can a fielder leave the field without the approval of the captain? This is a clear example of the influence Ramiz Raja has over his players.''

Hanif was also unhappy with the post-match performance of the team management which led to a two-match suspension of Inzamam. ``The Management and the skipper should have strongly defended Inzamam. It is no secret that Inzamam is the coolest player in the Pakistan team. They (officials) must have been unconvincing before the ICC Match Referee (Jackie Hendricks).''

Former chairman of selectors, Hasib Ahsan, laid the blame for the fracas on the team management. ``If the spectator was swearing and hurling insults for the last two hours before Inzamam got charged, what The Management was doing?'' questioned Hasib Ahsan. ``Had The Management acted swiftly before the brawl took place, neither Inzamam would have been suspended from two matches nor the relations between the two countries had further suffered.''

``It was the job of The Management to ask the security staff to get that spectator out of the ground. I agree that the language was unfamiliar to the local authorities, but the Pakistan team management could have understood what was being said on the megaphone by the spectator,'' Ahsan added.

Ahsan said another example of the failure of The Management was that when everything was going on the field, none of the two officials came out of the ground. ``I saw the Indian managers trying to cool things, but where were the Pakistani officials? In fact, Ramiz Raja also came after Inzamam tried to assault the spectator after snatching the bat from Saurav Ganguly.''

Ahsan said Inzamam was also partly blamed for the riot. ``He should have never gone into the enclosure because anything could have happened. He might have fractured his hand or suffered any other serious injury. Ahsan said the incident was a clear reflection of the failure of The Management to enforce discipline.

Commenting on the performance of the team in the two matches played so far, Hasib Ahsan said: ``Winning and losing is part of the game. I firmly believe that Pakistan's second string is presently better than the main Indian pack. ``But what perplexes me is why Saqlain Mushtaq was deliberately run-out in the opener and why Ramiz Raja opted to bat first in the second.

Chairman of the PCB disciplinary committee, Talat Ali, was also of the view that the captain and management should shoulder most of the responsibility for the unfortunate incident.

``That (Canadian) society is an independent one and security personal don't intervene unless told. I think the captain (Ramiz Raja) was in the best position to play his role as a leader than Inzamamul Haq becoming an authority himself,'' he said from Lahore. Talat Ali said the law-enforcing agencies would have taken possession of the megaphones ``but only if the captain or the team management had asked for.''


Source: Dawn
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Date-stamped : 25 Feb1998 - 15:13