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Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB)Lt Gen Tauqir Zia has declared that the board would not take disciplinary action against senior players till their replacement is available.

"No doubt that senior players including Wasim Akram are violating the discipline and do not follow the prescribed rules, but at the moment the board has no other option," said Zia, while speaking at Meet the Press programme of Sarhad Sports Writers Association at Arbab Niaz Cricket Stadium Peshawar on Friday.

He said that senior players were our national heroes that was why the board was helpless before them. He said "I can write a book about wrong-doings of each and every player. You provide me Wasim's calibre player I will expel him from the team without delay." Gen Zia, who is very optimistic about the future of cricket saidthat Vision 2005 was his mission and under this programme the PBC would prepare short and long term planning for the promotion of cricket in Pakistan.

For short term, heel aborted, the board would prepare strategy to prepare a balanced team to win the next World Cup to be hosted by South Africa in 2003.

Under the short term planning he said the board construct grounds, cricket academies and coaching centres. In this he said upgradation work of 25 grounds had been started and would prepare international standard pitches. He said that the services of senior players would be hired to train young cricketers in order to promote domestic cricket.

The PCB chief said that Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar, would also be upgraded and work would start soon and claimed that in the new sport policy the role of associations had been highlighted.

Cricket academy: NWFP governor Syed Iftekhar Hussain Shah has said that the government was committed to delegate authority to the gross root of the society down to the district and tehsil level. "The government is fully aware of the need to promote sports in the country" emphasised the governor on Friday at Shahi Bagh while inaugurating Regional Cricket Academy in Peshawar.

© Dawn