Sarfraz asks for change in PCB set up

LAHORE, March 13: Former Test cricketer Sarfraz Nawaz has levelled corruption allegations against some senior officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and demanded of President Pervez Musharraf to change the present set up.

Addressing a Press conference here on Thursday Sarfraz said that the Pakistan team had been tasting defeats regularly fromthe home series against England to the World Cup-2003 and now there was no justification for General Tauqir Zia to head the PCB.

Sarfraz claimed that he had brought it to the notice of the PCB chairman some incidents of corruption in PCB, two years back but no action had yet been taken by him.

He alleged that the National Academy building in Lahore had been completed at a cost of Rs 600 million which should be around Rs 300 million. He went on to say that according to laws, any national project exceeding Rs 500 million should get an approval from NAB which was not sought for the academy. He also said that NAB should investigate the TV rights deal of 40.5 million dollars recently signed between PCB and Taj Company.

He said that PCB chairman had changed the name of inquiry committee as review committee which was formed by the board to present its report on the debacle of the Pakistan team in the World Cup-2003.

He said that Aaqib Javed, one of the members of the committee, had said that Wasim and Waqar were his favourite bowlers. How could he give his recommendation against them.

He asked why the three foreign coaches of the team, Richard Pybus, Dennis Waight and Daryl Foster were not asked to appear before the review committee.

He suggested that Moin Khan should be named as next captain of the team.