PCB Chairman Naqvi asks national selectors to review CT squad at least twice: source

Karachi: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi asked the national selectors to review the Champions Trophy squad at least twice before giving his final approval, according to a source. A reliable source in the PCB claimed that Naqvi, while not interfering in purely cricketing decisions, was running the board affairs "with an iron hand".

"When the squad for the Champion Trophy was finalized by the selectors and sent to Naqvi for approval he sent it back telling the selectors to again review the squad to be sure the best players were selected," the source claimed.

When the selectors sent the squad a second time to Naqvi, he sent it back asking them to be sure about their decisions, according to the source.


"It was only after the third time that the chairman approved the 15-member squad for the mega-event but made it clear to the selectors and team management they were solely responsible for it," the source said.

The national selectors include the team's interim head coach Aaqib Javed, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Aleem Dar and Hasan Cheema.

"Naqvi, having remained the caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, is running the board affairs with an iron hand and no decision is implemented or executed without his final approval," the source claimed.

"He has now mainly brought in his own team of bureaucrats and government officials to run the cricket and board affairs."