- Saturday, July 27, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Former Pakistan captain and wicket-keeper Rashid Latif on Tuesday (14) launched a scathing attack on the country’s cricket board over the national team’s selection and even suggested it to “rest in peace”.
The 54-year-old, who played 37 Tests and 166 one-day internationals for Pakistan, was aghast over the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to pick Shadab Khan as the side’s captain for the upcoming T20 series against Afghanistan, with regular skipper Babar Azam and speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi being rested.
“Our players are featuring in ICC rankings and winning awards after a long time. Babar and Shaheen won ICC awards. They [PCB] couldn’t digest it. They said we won’t let it happen and now we are here and will take decisions. Those who never took rest and are 70 or 80-year-old and need to rest, are now deciding the fate of Pakistan cricket. You can say rest in peace Pakistan team. Our team is now rest in peace,” Latif was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
“When you bring new players, you break a team combination. Some new players, who are selected, will perform in the Afghanistan series, so will they bring back the senior players back with lesser strike rate. Media will also put pressure on them. This is the first step towards destroying Pakistan team,” Latif added.
Many former cricketers of Pakistan have raised questions over the running of the PCB under the new leadership of Najam Sethi who succeeded former cricketer Ramiz Raja at the helm last December.
Explaining the selection call, Sethi had said that it was logical for Khan to take over the reins in the absence of Azam in the three-match T20 series against Afghanistan in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, since he has served as the vice captain in the white-ball format for the past couple of years.
“For the short Sharjah tour and to ensure continuity, we have also appointed Mohammad Yousuf as the interim head and batting coach. Yousuf has been with the national side since last year as a batting coach and has also been working in the National High Performance Centre,” Sethi was quoted as saying.
