Islamabad, Mar 22: Sacked Pakistan captain Waqar Younis has lashed out against the new selection committee for leaving him out of the team for next month's tri-nation tournament in Sharjah, asserting that he alone could not be held responsible for Pakistan's debacle in the World Cup. "I am not alone responsible for the debacle, the other seniors are equally responsible but surprisingly they are 'rested' and I am 'dropped'," Waqar was quoted as saying by a leading Pak daily. Waqar, alongwith six of his teammates including Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar, were left out of the 16-member team for the Sharjah Tournament.
While announcing the team led by Rashid Latif, the newly appointed chief selector Aamir Sohail had categorically mentioned that Waqar had been dropped while Akram, Shoaib, Inzamam-ul Haq, Saqlain Mushtaq and Saeed Anwar were 'rested'. Waqar admitted that he had not led the side according to expectations in the World Cup, but insisted that his own performance was certainly better than most of his teammates.
Waqar said the selection committee cannot force him to announce his retirement.
“I played cricket for 15 years without taking any advice from any quarter and will decide on my own when to call it a day," he said, and demanded an explanation from the selectors for the 'discriminatory treatment' meted out to him. Pakistan will play Sri Lanka and South Africa in the Sharjah Tournament starting on April 1.
Bureau Report