By Omar Khalid,IANS,
Karachi : Former Pakistan captain Moin Khan has appealed to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to recall the country’s Indian Cricket League (ICL) rebels as a response to the lack of support shown by India over the hosting rights of the 2011 World Cup.
Moin’s comments came after International Cricket Council (ICC) removed Pakistan as co-hosts of the 2011 World Cup on grounds of security. The PCB blamed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the debacle.
Moin, who is associated with the breakaway ICL as a coach as well as the unofficial league’s representative in Pakistan, said in an interview Monday that it is time that the PCB stopped acting on the instructions of the BCCI.
“We have been toeing the line of the BCCI for far too long and look what we’ve ended up with. The BCCI worked against our interests, which is why the World Cup has been taken away from us,” Moin said referring to the ICC’s decision to relocate Pakistan’s share of 2011 World Cup matches because of security apprehensions.
“It is time that our board stops following BCCI’s instructions on the ICL issue and recall our players attached to the league,” he added.
Moin believes that the return of the rebel ICL players would further strengthen the national team.
Pakistan lost some of its top players to the rebel league, including former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammd Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Imran Farhat, Imran Nazir, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Sami among others, who were all members of the national team when they opted to play for the ICL.
Moin said that he is disappointed over the ICC move to refuse an official recognition to ICL, and said that the issue will now be settled in court.
He said that the PCB should save itself the hassle of fighting a legal battle with its ICL players and allow them to play for the country.