Holding Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt responsible for the current pathetic situation of the sport in the country, former Test cricketer Aamir Malik has said the game is dying at the grassroots and club levels due to the board’s negligence.
During an interview with Deustsche Welle Radio, Aamir accused the PCB of ruining the game at the domestic level and added that it was one of the prime reasons why the national team was struggling in England.
“This is the reason why the Pakistan team is struggling. The present Pakistan team has no quality batsman apart from Mohammad Yousuf and the national selectors have no choice other than selecting incompetent batsmen for Test cricket,” the Daily Times quoted Aamir, as saying.
Aamir, who scored back-to-back Test centuries against India during the 1989 series, blamed Butt for the mismanagement and the crisis facing the game in the country.
“When a head of any organisation have all the powers and money like Ijaz (Butt) is enjoying than there is no excuse for consistent failures,” he said.
Commenting on Pakistan’s continuous dismal performance in England, Aamir said that in the absence of players like Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan it was nothing surprising.
Without naming Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi, the former batsman termed their selection in the Test squad as a big joke. “The selection committee included those players in the Test team who became batsman after starting their career as spin bowlers, so one could only expect failure. It is a big joke for Pakistan cricket,” Aamir said.