KARACHI: Ijaz Butt on Saturday took yet another U-turn on the captaincy issue when he hinted that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will appoint a young player as the new skipper, replacing the disappointing Mohammad Yousuf after the tour of Australia.
The PCB chairman, who had reportedly announced earlier this month that Yousuf will be sacked after the series against Australia before backtracking on that comment, said in his latest interview that circumstances forced him to appoint the experienced Yousuf as Pakistan’s skipper.
Butt said that he was aware that Australia has had just four captains in the past 25 years, which is in stark contrast to the frequency with which Pakistan changes its leadership.
The PCB chief said that he too wants Pakistan to have four captains in 25 years rather having four within a year but added that unpleasant developments somehow forces the Board to keep bringing in a new captain every now and then.
He said that the Board wanted to stick with Younis Khan as Pakistan’s captain but was quick to add that the senior player was forced to quit after match-fixing allegations were leveled at him by Jamshed Dasti, the chairman of National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Sports.
“It was not possible for us to appoint a young player to lead the Pakistan team for a long and difficult twin tour of New Zealand and Australia. That’s why we were forced to make Yousuf as captain. Yousuf has led the national team after five long years and it was a difficult task,” he said.
Butt defended PCB’s decision to have three former Test bowlers as the team’s coaches even as experts continue to call for the appointment of a batting coach to help out the struggling batsmen. He is of the view that bowling can be taught “like Sarfraz Nawaz taught Imran Khan the art of reverse swing” but nobody can teach anyone how to bat.
However, he said that the PCB would appoint a batting coach to help out youngsters at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.
Butt said that the PCB is considering bringing about major changes in the team management after the tour of Australia.
Speaking on a different issue, Butt said the ICC has accepted Pakistan’s demand and the Pakistan-India series had been declared as iconic series on the pattern of the Ashes between England and Australia.
Butt disclosed that the future Pakistan-India series would consist of five Test, seven ODIs and two T20 matches. He said that England had offered to host Pakistan-India series but owing to the IPL issue any decision would be taken only after consultation with the government.
Butt said Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh are three aspirants to host the forthcoming Asia Cup. He said that the Malaysian offer to hold the Asia Cup had been rejected because of bad weather and lack of interest shown by the broadcasters.
