PCB to not ask India for bilateral series anymore

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan has said that they would no longer ask India to play the bilateral series in the UAE in December. “I think we have said enough about the series, and we are not going to ask them anymore. The ball is in their court, and now they have to decide and inform us about the fate of the series,” said Khan. The former diplomat, in his strongest statement yet on the series, said the PCB had done enough on its part to show its keenness to play the series and revive bilateral ties.

Former captain Younis Khan has ruffled quite a few feathers in Pakistan cricket with a slew of hard-hitting comments, prompting PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan to contemplate some disciplinary action against the senior player.

Khan said that while he had a lot of respect for Younis and had no personal grouse against him but the board was contemplating some action over his recent statements.

“If Younis says he was not invited for the PSL it is not correct. If we had made a mistake I would have apologised to him myself. But we are going to sit down with him and talk to him. But we have to think about some action. Moderate or extreme we have to find the right balance,” Khan is reported to have said. He said the PCB expected its senior players to behave responsibly. Younis, a veteran of 101 Tests and 264 one-day internationals, has expressed his disappointment at being ignored for the coming series in Zimbabwe and also spoke about being not invited for the PSL logo launch ceremony.

Younis had been critical about the selectors and board for not being straight with him and also hit out at former captain Wasim Akram for advising him to focus on Test cricket.

Even last year Younis was not happy at being ignored for the one-day matches. Sources close to him say he is irritated because the national selectors had spoken to him and indicated that he play a couple of ODIs but on the condition that he announce his retirement from ODIs after that.

Chief selector Haroon Rasheed insisted that no injustice had been done with Younis.

“We have spoken to him during the national T20 championship in Rawalpindi and we asked him about his future plans he in turn questioned us what plans we had. But we told him we have not closed the doors of ODIs for him but will consider him only when there is a need in the team. The selectors are looking at the future and at the 2019 World Cup,” Haroon said.