Probe panel blames Inzi for Cup debacle

“Inzamam failed to lead from the front and the chairman of the selection committee was also a weak and a pliant person. As a consequence, the team was chosen at behest of Inzamam,” it said. There were also serious doubts over Inzamam’s fitness to play one-day cricket over the past year,” it said. The committee also noted that it was a depleted Pakistan side that played in the World Cup. “The absence of Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif and Abdul Razzaq due to injuries and the unavailability of Shahid Afridi for the first two games because of a ban contributed to the defeats.”

The committee, that also included Salahuddin Ahmed (who is now chief selector) and Saleem Altaf (former Director, Cricket Operations also criticised the PCB for not handling the fitness and doping issues of the players properly. It also highlighted the failure of the batsmen to play under pressure as a major cause for the debacle. It pointed out that in the World Cup game against the West Indies, Inzamam and Yousuf had scored just 13 runs in 10 overs at one stage.

The committee, which worked independently and interviewed Inzamam and other players and officials during its inquiry, recommended overhauling the entire cricket system in the country. It attributed the poor World Cup performances and other problems in Pakistan cricket to an overall failure of management at all levels.

The panel called for an end to the ad-hoc system of running cricket affairs in the country.