News

Miandad quits as PCB director

Javed Miandad has resigned as director general of the PCB, bringing to an abrupt end his fourth stint with the board since retiring as a player

Cricinfo staff
28-Jan-2009

Javed Miandad talks to media in Lahore after resigning © PA Photos
 
Javed Miandad has quit as director-general of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), bringing to an abrupt end his fourth stint with the board since retiring as a player. At a little over two months, it was considerably shorter than any of his three tenures as coach.
Miandad stepped down after differences emerged over the exact scope of his role. There was always a lack of clarity over the exact nature of his work. He spoke openly of it as being a troubleshooting role of sorts, delving into whatever areas needed fixing.
He unveiled grand plans for domestic cricket, but talked of removing ICL bans and played an active part in arranging the Sri Lanka tour of three ODIs. He was also known to have said that he would don a tracksuit and get out on the field to coach if needed.
But in the contract the board offered to him yesterday, which defined his role for the first time since he took over, he found that only domestic affairs were within his ambit and thus did not sign it. "The PCB wanted to restrict me to domestic affairs and I don't want any interference in my work. I have therefore resigned," Miandad told AFP.
"All the agreements that we had with him so far were verbal," PCB official Asif Suhail was quoted by espnstar.com. "When he was offered the appointment letter yesterday, Miandad refused the contract."
Though Wasim Bari, the director of HR and administration, refused to confirm the news, another board official said that Miandad wasn't happy with the contract and neither its financial rewards. "He didn't like what he had been offered," the official told Cricinfo. "The scope of the role was that he look after domestic cricket, infrastructure growth and work with the games director at the National Cricket Academy and be based in Karachi. He wanted more. Monetarily he also felt he deserved more given his stature as a Test cricketer."
Miandad later spoke to reporters at Gaddafi Stadium and denied that finances had anything to do with the decision. He said he wasn't leaving on bad terms, but just that the role wasn't suitable to him. "Money has nothing to do with this. I wasn't doing the job for money. I have no problems with the PCB, just that this role didn't suit me. I don't leave with a heavy heart and am always available to serve cricket in this country in any capacity possible," he said.
Though Miandad was one of the few men not in favour of the captaincy change that saw Younis Khan replace Shoaib Malik - it wasn't the personnel as much as what he saw as the panic-stricken reaction to defeat which he objected to - it is understood that had nothing to do with his final decision.
"My views on the matter were not sought but I am certainly not angry about yesterday's decision. My thoughts were that you cannot base a decision on just a loss but my views weren't sought. I have high hopes that Younis can do well," he said.
Miandad will continue to remain a member of the nine-member governing board committee, however.