A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman confirmed on Tuesday that Intikhab, a former Pakistan Test captain, has been replaced by a member of the PCB Governing Board for the tour of Zimbabwe which will begin with a two-day game in Bulawayo on Aug. 28-29.
“Naveed Akram Cheema has been appointed as Pakistan’s manager in place of Intikhab Alam,” Nadeem Sarwar, PCB’s media chief told Arab News.
Though Sarwar tried to make it clear that the change in team management was in line with PCB’s standard regulations, well-placed sources said that Intikhab has been shown the door because he had become a controversial figure in the aftermath of the tour of West Indies earlier this year.
Just last month, a special task force appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to help put Pakistan cricket back on track, had advised PCB to ease workload on Intikhab, who is also serving as Pakistan cricket’s development chief apart from other assignments.
“PCB was under pressure to take some kind of action after being told by the ICC task force that it was putting too much burden on Intikhab, who is not a young man,” said a source.
Another reason behind the move, according to the source, was that several of the national team’s senior players were unhappy with the way the 67-year-old Intikhab ran team affairs during international tours.
“Some of the senior players were upset with the way Intikhab deals with important issues. They believe that sometime he is hypocritical in dealing with important matters,” said a source.
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi had also accused Intikhab of hypocrisy after a bitter fall-out with PCB bosses following the tour of West Indies early this summer. It is believed that Afridi, who was not getting along well with team coach Waqar Younis, was removed as Pakistan captain on the basis of Intikhab’s report.
"I don't know what he (Intikhab) has written in his report but he should be honest enough to say all those things he has told me about Waqar (Younis). He tells me something, agrees with me on certain issues and then says something else to the board," Afridi had said in an interview last month.
Intikhab may have been sidelined because of those issues but another source told Arab News that he could be back as manager after the tour of Zimbabwe that will include one Test, three One-day Internationals and two Twenty20 games.
“Cheema has been installed as manager just for the tour of Zimbabwe and there are chances that Intikhab could be brought back for the next assignment which is a series against Sri Lanka,” said a source.
Intikhab, a former Pakistan coach, was appointed as the team manager in October 2008. He is also serving as director of the National Cricket Academy as well as member of the PCB Governing Board.
Cheema is a part of the Governing Board as a departmental representative. He is managing director of WAPDA and has served as manager of Pakistan A team on its tour of West Indies last year.
