Miandad unhappy with Abbas's removal

Javed Miandad, the former Pakistan batsman and captain, criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the removal of Zaheer Abbas as team manager for next month's Champions Trophy in India. Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the PCB, announced yesterday that Abbas would be replaced by Talat Ali, a former Pakistan opener and ICC match referee.

Quite a few former Pakistan players had criticised Abbas for not taking a proactive role in resolving the crisis at The Oval - in which Pakistan forfeited the Test to England following allegations of ball-tampering. However, Shaharyar had emphasised that Abbas's removal had nothing to do with those events. Miandad, though, wasn't very convinced, claiming that such a move would appear to hold Abbas responsible for the fiasco.

"He (Abbas) has served Pakistan cricket like an icon and is still a hero for millions of cricket lovers worldwide," Miandad told PTI. "By only removing him, the board has held him responsible for what happened during the Oval Test. There were a number of board members at the Oval on that day and what were they doing? Why only hold Zaheer responsible for what happened? They have disgraced a hero and it should not happen."

Miandad felt that Abbas was being used as a scapegoat in the incident.

"What was Zaheer expected to do that day? What authority does a manager have? The chairman said afterwards the players were not aware of the time and that the umpires had called off play. Who is he fooling? Every player and coach knows the rules and there is a clock in the dressing room to remind players when they are supposed to be on the field."