Lahore, October 18: The Sports Ministry has asked Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to take its own independent decision on Younis Khan’s fate as the national team skipper, considering his personal contribution, performance and role as a leader.
Sports Minister Aftab Shah Jilani confirmed that he had given a go-ahead to the Board to decide the matter on merit and there would be no pressure whatsoever from the top. ”The PCB is free to handle Younis Khan’s issue and this I am saying after meeting with the top official here the other day.
The Ministry or no other quarter would intervene in this affair. The issue should be decided on merit and we hope that only merit would be kept at the top while deciding his fate as the future Pakistan captain,” said the minister.
Jilani said the PCB should not not consider any kind of political pressures while deciding Younis’ future. ”There is no room for political pressures in sports and that is what I want from the PCB.” He said the PCB should decide the issue purely keeping in view the future of cricket.
”Any bad decision or decision under pressure or through political maneuvering will have far reaching consequences. It is pertinent on the PCB to decide the fate on merit to save the future of Pakistan cricket,” Jilani told ‘The News’. Jilani said even the Patron of the Board president Asif Ali Zardari wanted the PCB to decide Younis on merit.
He said the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Sports Chairman Jamshed Dasti had forwarded a request two weeks ago for a meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari and the meeting took place late on Friday. ”During the meeting, this issue never came under discussion. Dasti only wanted the PCB to work under the Ministry of Sports and that was one of the reasons of his request for a meeting with president Zardari.”
He said that if there was any discussion about cricket in the meeting, that was Dasti request to put the PCB under ministry’s control. ”The Patron was of the opinion that such amendment could be ade through consensus. All the stakeholders should be taken into confidence before finalising any such matter. Other political issues were also discussed in the meeting.”
—–Agencies