Of late, the speculations were rife that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is in talks with speedster – Shoaib Akhtar for the chief selector’s role. However, the report carried by Daily Jung revealed that PCB has denied any such approach for the top-most position.
The reports suggested that Akhtar had met PCB chairman Ehsan Mani besides board’s CEO Wasim Khan. The Urdu daily of Pakistan Jung in its report maintained that things have been conjectured.
Shoaib Akhtar claim on major position within PCB was false?
Furthermore, it added that Shoaib had requested the PCB official for a meeting before speaking in the public about the possibility of the selector’s role.
On September 10 (Thursday), Shoaib maintained that he had been in touch with the PCB for the responsibility — to some capacity and nothing has panned out in this regard so far.
“I will not deny it. Yes, I have had some discussions with the Board and I am interested in playing a major role in Pakistan cricket. But nothing is decided as yet,” Shoaib Akhtar told Waheed Khan on YouTube show – Cricket Baaz.
It is pertinent to point out that Shoaib had shown a keen interest long before – to hold the position of the chief selector for setting things right within the board.
Pakistan had recently lost the Test series 1-0 against England despite levelling the three-match T20 series one each, Shoaib came out all guns blazing. Recently, it has been assumed that Pakistan would relieve Misbah-ul-Haq given to his dual role within the board.
Shoaib Akhtar said ‘yes’ to chief selector’s role:
Recently, many believed that Pakistan should work towards the betterment of the game by making a shift in their policies.
The Rawalpindi expressed further asserted that without much happening on the ground, but he had been in discussion with the board by giving a green signal from his side.
“Yes, there have been some discussions. I can reveal only this much but nothing concrete as yet. But talks are still on. I have not said yes and neither have they (PCB) said yes,” Shoaib said.
In the recent past, Shoaib had criticised board for not having hard-line approach following Pakistan’s poor performance on the field. It had subsequently left their fans dejected with no-so-good improvement in ICC rankings.
Shoaib, who was criticised for praising Indian cricketers, believes that the pragmatic approach leads to the desired results – and he believes Pakistan has failed to meet all the requirements to do well.
In his recent statement, he further suggested that he would be open to help to improve cricket in Pakistan and extended his helping hand to the board.
Despite some recent reports, the Pakistan Cricket Board says that they are not considering Shoaib Akhtar for any role #Cricket
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) September 11, 2020