Moin says discussion held on captaincy issue

Karachi: The captaincy issue of Pakistan cricket team was today re-ignited with chief selector and national team manager Moin Khan conceding for the first time that discussions were held whether to change the skipper or not.

Moin, however, made it clear that until now no decision has been taken on the captaincy issue. The former wicketkeeper-batsman was responding to a question on whether there were plans to appoint a new captain despite the presence of Misbah-ul-Haq who has been Test skipper since 2010 and has also led the ODI side since 2011. Speculation has been rife that Moin, Zaheer Abbas, who is now principal advisor to the PCB chairman, and some others were keen on bringing back flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi as captain of the ODI side. Muhammad Hafeez also stepped down as captain of the national Twenty20 side after the World T20 in Bangladesh and the Board was also searching for his replacement. "Yes there have been discussions held on a change in the captaincy among the Board`s think tank but nothing is final as yet. And most importantly whenever a decision is taken obviously the opinion of the new head coach will matter a lot and Misbah would also be taken into confidence," Moin said. PCB Chairman Najam Sethi has said a number of times that there was no reason to remove Misbah as he had led the side well so far. Incidentally, Afridi and another former captain Younis Khan met Sethi in Lahore and sources said they requested the chairman to give a 25 per cent hike in the new central contracts. "Afridi and Younis discussed team matters with the chairman but the most important issue was a pay hike for players," a source said.