WAQAR Younis has called on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to reveal more details about their decision to axe Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan.
The PCB suspended the two former captains indefinitely on Wednesday as well as dishing out one-year bans to Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan following the tour of Australia on which Pakistan failed to win a match.
Waqar, who only took over as Pakistan coach after that tour, was quoted on www.dailytimes.com.pk as saying: “I think the players, their fans and public have a right to know what were the reasons for taking these strong decisions. It will also clear any controversy and issues.”
Waqar tentatively backed the board, though, who said in a statement on Wednesday that “infighting” between Yousuf and Younus had affected team morale on tour.
“They were tough decisions but I think the board had a valid reason for taking them,” said Waqar. “These are big decisions that are initially hard to digest for anyone.”
The PCB acted on the advice of a report submitted by a six-member inquiry committee set up to investigate the reasons behind the Australia debacle.
Younus had stepped down as captain in November, just prior to the tour, after suggesting he had lost command of his players, with Yousuf subsequently installed as captain.
Waqar now faces the unenviable task of finding replacements for some of his most experienced players.
“Obviously it is not going to be easy replacing Yousuf or Younus because they are quality batsmen with batting averages of 50 which is rare these days,” he said.
Pakistan’s tour of Australia was also marred by a ball-tampering row involving Shahid Afridi, who has been fined 3 million rupees (£24 000) and placed on probation for six months over the incident, while the Akmal brothers, Kamran and Umar, were fined a total of 5 million rupees (£40 000) on grounds of indiscipline.