PCB unhappy about contentious comments by Pak team members

Karachi: The top hierarchy of the Pakistan Cricket Board is not happy with the spate of contentious statements being issued by members and officials of the national team which is currently playing a two-Test series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates.

A well-informed source in the board told PTI that Younis Khan`s press conference on Monday had set the alarm bells ringing in the board. The senior batsman vented his frustration at not being part of the one-day squad and said he was shocked at his ouster as he had not given up on playing one-day internationals. "The board hierarchy is not happy that in recent days some contentious statements have come from the national team even though players and officials are strictly bound by clauses in their central contracts to avoid speaking on contentious issues," the source said. He said that the board had not been happy with the Saeed Ajmal and head coach Dav Whatmore fiasco before the team left for UAE. "Apparently the board also took notice of Whatmore`s comments on a television show that there was a lack of nationalism in Pakistan cricket when compared to other cricket playing like India, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh in the continent. "Whatmore then also decided to air his displeasure over Ajmal`s comments on his coaching on twitter and this also didn`t make the board happy," the source said. He said Ajmal`s comments about foreign coaches and Whatmore had put the board in an uneasy situation before the SA series and that is why it forced the senior player to apologize to Whatmore and also posted a press release about this. "But apparently the board also spoke to Whatmore about his nationalism comments and his tendency to discuss Pakistan cricket issues on twitter," the source said. The Source said though Younis Khan`s remarks had not gone down well with the board but it had decided against issuing him any sort of official reprimand. "But Younis has also been advised to not air his views on selection issues in public as the selectors were not happy with being blamed for dropping him from the one-day squad," the source said. Interestingly, Younis had got backing from some former players for his desire to play one-day cricket although the selectors have not picked him in this format since he last played in the one-day series in SA in February. The PCB has in recent times implemented a rigid media code for its players and team officials with no one allowed to speak to the press without permission or clearance from relevant authorities. Relevant clauses in the players central contracts have heavy penalties for players found guilty of violating the terms and condition of the media policy.