Miandad wasn't sacked: Shaharyar

Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan board, has clarified that the decision to end Javed Miandad's tenure as coach was taken mutually by both Miandad and the board. According to a report in The News, Shaharyar said that while Bob Woolmer, the new coach, would receive full support from the board, it was wrong to state that the PCB had sacked Miandad.

"I am sad that this impression has circulated around that we have sacked him. The truth is we spoke to him on certain issues and he indicated himself he could not continue and the financial part of the remaining months of his contractual period should be fulfilled by us.

"I had a detailed discussion with Miandad and he told me that he wanted absolute power and authority as coach and he would produce results in the next 11 months. I told him we could not give him that absolute power and the coach would have to work in cooperation with the captain, manager and selectors. Miandad said if he didn't get the powers it would be better for him to go.

"I think `sacked' or `terminated' are the not correct words to use here. Because we didn't terminate his contract we wanted to use his experience and skills elsewhere for the remaining part of his contract but Miandad preferred to leave with mutual understanding."

Reacting quickly to Miandad's claim that the Pakistan board did not giving him enough authority in decision-making, Shaharyar offered the assurance that Woolmer would have complete power. "We will give Woolmer full authority and we will make sure he has the powers to implement his decisions on and off the field. If we get complaints about any player coming into line with the ground rules laid down by Woolmer, we will take action against him or them."

Woolmer's first assignment will be the six-nation Asia Cup tournament, which starts on July 16 in Sri Lanka.