Hafeez wanted Razzaq for CLT20 but PCB refused: Source

Karachi: Lahore Lions captain Muhammad Hafeez had wanted the inclusion of veteran all-rounder Abdul Razzaq in the squad for Champions League Twenty20 in India this month but the Pakistan Cricket Board rejected his request, according to sources.

A source close to Hafeez said he had made the request during a meeting with PCB officials after the Board got an invitation from their Indian counterparts to send the national T20 champions for the lucrative CLT20.

"The Board informed Hafeez that a 15th player could be added to the Lahore Lions team and he had suggested the name of Abdul Razzaq," the source told PTI.

"Hafeez wanted Razzaq since he had represented Lahore in the national T20 event in earlier editions and he carries a lot of experience with him of T20 cricket. But the Board apparently did not take Hafeez's suggestion and Razzaq was ignored for selection when the Lahore squad was finalized."

It was though surprising for Hafeez to request for Razzaq's inclusion in the team since both of them had been at loggerheads since the 2012 T20 World Cup. Hafeez had dropped the experienced all-rounder for the semifinal match then.

Razzaq was later fined by the Board for criticizing Hafeez. Things between the two got so bad that at one stage, Razzaq refused to play for the Lahore team in the national T20 when Hafeez was announced as captain.

Interestingly, the Lahore Lions team is also going to India without a fielding or a batting coach and have only former Pakistan bowler Mohsin Kamal as their head coach and Shafiq Ahmed as their manager.

The source also said that Hafeez wanted the Board to tell the players in advance what would be the remuneration they would receive for playing in the CLT20 but the PCB has not made this clear till now.