CricInfo Home
News Home

NEWS FOCUS
Rsa in Pak
NZ in India
Zim in Aus

Domestic
Other Series

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), known for playing musical chairs with its officials, resorted to a guessing game by declining to name new manager for next month's offshore Test series against Australia after Yawar Saeed was relieved of his duties Tuesday.

Although the PCB has not officially announced Yawar's dismissal, he was reportedly summoned home from Colombo where Pakistan will play a three-day practice match against West Indies from Wednesday followed by the first Test on Oct 3.

Yawar, who is expected home Wednesday night, performed his last duty as the Pakistan team manager Tuesday when he attended the official function in honour of the competing teams at the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy in the Sri Lankan capital.

Khalid Butt, PCB's media manager, however expressed his complete ignorance at the news of Yawar being relieved after Pakistan failed to qualify beyond the Champions Trophy's preliminary round.

"I have no knowledge about Yawar Saeed's removal as Pakistan team manager," he told Dawn from Lahore after being informed that PTV had already aired the news in its evening bulletin.

When questioned as to who would be the replacement, the PCB official said he was unaware of any developments on that front.

"As far as I know, there is no official announcement forthcoming from the cricket board," Khalid said.

Yawar's sacking was widely expected after last week's removal of coach Mudassar Nazar over Pakistan's dismal performance and lack of discipline in the team which reached its nadir when Yousuf Youhana was sent home from Nairobi before the start of a triangular tournament late last month.

Yawar, 72, who seemed to have become indispensable, held the post since April 2001 after serving in the same capacity on several occasions in the past, as well as holding the post of Director Operations and Marketing Director of the PCB.

He was first named manager in 1985 for the tour of New Zealand when Javed Miandad captained the side which marked the first appearance on Test scene of Wasim Akram.

A former cricketer who played for English county side Somerset as an all-rounder, Yawar was initially appointed manager till next year's World Cup in South Africa in July 1999 by the then chairman of PCB Mujib-ur-Rehman.

He remained manager until the disastrous three-Test series in Australia three years ago when Pakistan were trounced 3-0, and was replaced by Brig Khawaja Mohammad Nasir when Lt Gen Tauqir Zia took over as PCB chairman in December 1999.

Brig Nasir, who served as manager until Pakistan lost the home Test series against England in the twilight of Karachi in December 2000, was in turn replaced by the controversial Fakir S. Aizazuddin when Pakistan toured New Zealand earlier last year.

Brig Nasir, however, is tipped to be named the new manager.

Meanwhile, Richard Pybus, Mudassar's successor as coach, left for Colombo via Dubai Tuesday night along with six players, who were named in the Test squad Saturday.

Pybus arrived in the city from Lahore together with batsmen Taufiq Umar, Imran Farhat and uncapped all-rounder Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan. They were joined by Karachi-based trio of batsmen Faisal Iqbal and Hasan Raza and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria.

Pybus, the 38-year-old South African, was officially appointed coach until the 2003 World Cup reportedly for a fee of £1500 per day, roughly Rs 1,35,000 for a day's work!

Sharjah will host the remaining two Tests of the Pakistan-Australia rubber from Oct 11 and 19 respectively.

© Dawn