The ongoing cricket World Cup in India is just past the halfway stage but it has already registered its first casualty as Pakistan Chief Selector Inzaman-ul-Haq has resigned from his post. The former Captain sent his resignation letter to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Zaka Ashraf following Pakistan’s four-match losing streak in the World Cup.
While the official reason given for Inzamam’s resignation is the conflict of interest issue in team selection, one suspects Pakistan’s poor performance at the World Cup is a part of it. Pakistan have lost 4 games against India, Australia, Afghanistan, and South Africa in the World Cup, after victories in the first two games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka. They are now on the brink of elimination.
Inzamam, whose nephew Imam-ul-Haq opens the batting for Pakistan, assumed the position of Chief Selector once again on 7th August. Earlier, he had served as Chief Selector of the Pakistan Cricket Team from 2016 to 2019 for over 3 years. While his earlier stint saw Pakistan win a coveted ICC trophy in the form of the 2017 Champions Trophy, now the team has plunged to very low depths during the ongoing World Cup.
After winning their first two games, Pakistan has succumbed to four consecutive losses, including a humiliating defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India. The pressure due to those losses was mounting on everyone from the coach and captain to the selectors and it looks like the selectors were the first to buckle.
While addressing the charges of conflict of interest in team selection, Inzamam-ul-Haq said, “I am a human and it hurts. I have a 20-year cricket career during which I represented Pakistan. I am not someone who people don’t know. When such allegations are levelled, it hurts.”
Meanwhile, PCB posted on X (formerly Twitter) that it had formed a five-member fact-finding committee to investigate allegations in respect of conflict of interest.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has set up a five-member fact-finding committee to investigate allegations in respect of conflict of interest reported in the media pertaining to the team selection process.
— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) October 30, 2023
The committee will submit its report and any recommendations to the PCB…
Inzamam-ul-Haq is one of the finest batsmen ever produced by Pakistan scoring 8,830 runs at an impressive average of 49.60 in Test matches and 11,739 runs in ODIs at an equally impressive average of 39.53. He is renowned as one of the best batsmen to ever play the game.
