Briefing mediamen at the conclusion of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Council meeting at the headquarters in the Qadhafi Stadium, chief executive Majid Khan said Ramiz Raja had been retained as captain and Saeed Anwar as vice-captain of the team. Haroon Rashid would be the coach, Maazullah Khan from Peshawar the manager and Dr Dan Kiesel the physiotherapist of the team which would leave for Canada on Sept 10. Majid Khan said that the PCB Council received a facsimile message from the manager of the Pakistan ``A'' cricket team Justice Ijaz Yousaf on Saturday which stated that young paceman Shoaib Akhtar had 'misbehaved' during the tour of England and should not be included in the team. ``Although the national selection committee included Shoaib Akhtar in the team yet the PCB has to exclude him because it believes in honouring the words of the manager and maintaining discipline. After receiving a detailed report of the manager and coach, we will think about taking any further action against Shoaib. I am trying to contact chief selector Salim Altaf to ask him to name a replacement for the young paceman after consulting his fellow selectors Shafiq Ahmad 'Papa' and Zaheer Abbas'', said Majid Khan.
Majid Khan said that Mushtaq Ahmad had informed the board that he had knee-trouble. He was fit enough to play one-day international matches. He said that Waqar Younis had informed about his commitment with his county Glamorgan and so he was not free. He said that the young paceman was doing swimming after his operation in England. He had not informed when he would resume training. Wasim Akram was also not fit.
Majid Khan, however, confirmed that Wasim Akran would go to Canada to give his expert comments on television on the matches of the Sahara Cup. The Pakistan cricket team includes three openers in Ramiz Raja, Saeed Anwar and Shahid Afridi. The last-named player is an all-rounder and will also strengthen the spin department as the only right-=arm leg-spinner. The team also includes the young off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq and the left-arm spinner Muhammad Hussain. The only wicketkeeper of the team is Moin Khan.
The pace department has been considerably weakened due to the absence of Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram. It will be handledby the experienced right-arm pacemen Aqib Javed and Azhar Mahmoodand the left-arm paceman Azhar Mahmood besides the substitute of Shoaib Akhtar. The young all-rounder Azhar Mahmood, who proved a success during the Pakistan ``A'' team's recent tour of England, will also strengthen the batting. Interestingly, the middle-order batting looks quite formidable in the presence of experienced Salim Malik, Ejaz Ahmad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and young Hasan Raza. The captain of the Pakistan ``A'' team Muhammad Wasim has also been dropped.
The team is: Captain Ramiz Raja, Vice-captain Saeed Anwar, Salim Malik, Ejaz Ahmad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Moin Khan, Hasan Raza, Azhar Mahmood, Saqlain Mushtaq, Muhammad Hussain, Shahid Afridi, Aqib Javed, Kabir Khan and a replacement of Shoaib Akhtar. Manager: Maazullah Khan. Coach: Haroon Rashid. Physiotherapist: Dr Dan Kiesel.
Majid Khan said the decision to begin the national senior cricket camp would be taken on Monday after inspecting the Qadhafi Stadium ground which was submerged under knee-deep water at the moment due to torrential rains which lashed Lahore on Friday. The camp could be shifted to some other place.
While replying to a question, Majid Khan said that the PCB Council considered Shahid Afridi's case who had been fined one thousand dollars ($1000). Giving details of other decisions, Majid Khan said that the Council had a approved proposal to engage senior umpires for imparting training to the young umpires and groundsmen. Majid said the roles of PCB,associations, departments, local administrations and all others concerned were discussed in detail due to the importance of international matches being organised to celebrate the Pakistan Golden Jubilee. Those would be beamed to many foreign countries like India, South Africa, Australia etc. The celebrations would start with the first match against India and conclude with the last match against the West Indies. He confirmed that the opening three-day match against South Africa has been shifted to the National Stadium, Karachi.
New format: While replying to a question, Majid Khan said that for the matches of the domestic season, the daily allowance forevery team of each association has been raised from Rs 4000 to Rs 6000. He said the Council approved the new format of the domestic season.
The PCB chief executive said that the report of the scrutiny committee would be passed on to the Council which would take a final decision about holding new elections. Majid said the new PCB Treasurer Waqar Hasan would return on Sunday from abroad. It was decided to put the PCB accounts before the Council at its next meeting which would beheld in September. The PCB chief executive clarified that the Committee headed by Salim Malik, which included Saeed Anwar and Moin Khan, was constituted by the players of the team themselves to ``impose self-discipline. ``That committee in no way had taken away the powers of the team-management, which is authorised to take any appropriate action against any player during tour'', declared Majid Khan in a firm voice.