Pak cricket team dismayed the nation, NA told

ISLAMABAD: The poor performance of the Pakistan cricket squad in the T20 World Cup echoed in the National Assembly (NA) as the government admitted that the cricketers had disappointed the nation.

Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada told the House that favoured and privileged people had been appointed at helm of affairs of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) while the former test cricketers had not been given any importance.

Khalida Mansoor and Surriya Asghar of PML-N raised the issue in the National Assembly on a calling attention notice. The minister informed the House that he had proposed name of Majid Khan to run affairs of the PCB. “Prime Minister is patron-in-chief of cricket and it is hoped that he will take better decision,” Pirzada said adding he had also apprised the oremier of the whole situation in writing.

He said that wrong decisions taken by the team captain and other weaknesses also resulted in poor performance of the national cricket squad. He was of the view that the nation and media should also encourage the Pakistani cricketers. “The media indulge in unnecessary criticism on the cricket team which discourage them,” he said.

The minister said that Waqar Younas during a meeting informed him that there was no cricketer sitting in the PCB. “They are favoured and privileged people running the cricket board,” he said. Meanwhile, the sources told ‘The News’ that the prime minister had rejected name of Majid Khan as the PCB chairman.