Asif for committee to resolve PCB-ECB differences

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan Test and Kent county captain Asif Iqbal has suggested that a three-member committee be constituted to resolve the differences between Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and its English counterpart. “What they need to do is to form a committee of respected people from the International Cricket Council (ICC), PCB, and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Representatives from the three organisations need to sit together and come up with a sensible solution,” he told UK-based website Pakpassion.net. He argued that one organisation should not be made the scapegoat and there shouldn’t be any finger pointing as significant damage had already been done.

“I think Pakistan cricket has come out very badly from this scenario. The PCB needs to decide the direction in which they are headed. They need to take the proper actions and punish any players that are guilty. It’s important that they stick by their decisions.” A veteran of 68 Tests, Asif thought that PCB chairman Ijaz Butt should not have gone public with his allegations to start with and instead should have approached the ICC if he had any information because the PCB was as much a member of the ICC as the ECB.

“But I would like to say that the PCB should have reacted in a mature manner. The ECB gave Pakistan the opportunity to host matches against Australia and were willing to give Pakistan a chance to play their matches in England in the future because teams are unwilling to travel to Pakistan. So, I think the PCB owed something to the ECB and I don’t think Ijaz should have issued such statements. There are so many more questions that have been raised following Ijaz’s allegation. For example, who are the bookies he’s talking about? Why didn’t Ijaz inform the ICC and give them all the information? When the videos of the sting operation were given to the ICC and the Scotland Yard as evidence of a conspiracy to defraud bookmakers, nobody complained.” Asif thought that there was pressure on Ijaz to do something or say something because most Pakistanis have taken this as a conspiracy against Pakistan cricketers.

“There are conspiracy theories not only in cricket but also in politics and other aspects of daily life in Pakistan, but we need to take more responsibility in what we say.” Asif was of the view that when allegations emerged against three Pakistan cricketers of spot-fixing in the Lord’s Test, the first and the best thing the PCB could have done was to withdraw the players from the limited overs squad and had declared that the players were under investigation and would not play until their names were cleared.

“The PCB should have taken this course of action instead of allowing the ICC to suspend the players. The PCB chairman should have never given such a statement and should have gone to the ICC with whatever information he had. Secondly, there were reports that the scoring pattern in one of the ODIs had also been fixed. The ICC should not have gone public with those reports without a thorough investigation.” Asif said the ICC was wrong when it came to that matter. Instead of going public, the ICC should have gone to the PCB with the information and investigated the reports. “By going public, the ICC has somewhat damaged the reputation of the Pakistan players who played in that particular ODI. What are they going to do if the investigation proves the claims by the newspaper as false? Then the statement by Ijaz didn’t help our cause. This entire affair has been badly managed by both the PCB and the ICC.”