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Decision on sending Misbah to NZ after first Test: PCB
Uncertainty still looms large over Misbah-ul-Haq's tour to New Zealand after the PCB said it would wait till the first Test.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: November 21, 2009 10:12 am IST
Read Time: 2 min
Karachi:
Pakistan captain for the series Mohammad Yousuf wanted Misbah to boost the team's batting department after regular skipper Younus' opted out of the three Test series for a break.
However, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt and chief selector Iqbal Qasim on Friday met in Lahore and decided that there was no need to send any replacement for Younus to New Zealand at this stage and will take a call on this matter after the first Test starting November 24 in Dunedin.
"We have already sent 17 players to New Zealand and even if we decide to send Misbah he would not be able to reach there in time for the first Test because of visa and other travel formalities," Qasim, a former Test spinner, said.
"So we have decided to wait and see how things go in the first Test and feel if there is a necessity to send a replacement for Younus then we will consider sending Misbah. But at this stage we don't think there is any need to send anyone to New Zealand," he said.
However on returning home from London, Butt had told reporters that Misbah would be joining the team for the second Test.
Meanwhile, sources in the PCB said that although Butt had agreed to Yousuf's request to send Misbah, he changed his mind after the selectors expressed their unhappiness over the batsman's decision to play league cricket in Bangladesh midway through a premier domestic tournament.
The sources said the selectors were also unhappy with Abdul Razzaq and Rana Naved for insisting on going to Bangladesh during the Quaid-e-Azam trophy.
"The selectors feel that any player who is not willing to give priority to the Quaid Trophy should not be given preferential treatment," the source added.
Uncertainty still looms large over Misbah-ul-Haq's tour to New Zealand after the Pakistan Cricket Board said it would wait till the first Test to decide whether to send the senior batsman there as Younus Khan's replacement. Pakistan captain for the series Mohammad Yousuf wanted Misbah to boost the team's batting department after regular skipper Younus' opted out of the three Test series for a break.
However, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt and chief selector Iqbal Qasim on Friday met in Lahore and decided that there was no need to send any replacement for Younus to New Zealand at this stage and will take a call on this matter after the first Test starting November 24 in Dunedin.
"We have already sent 17 players to New Zealand and even if we decide to send Misbah he would not be able to reach there in time for the first Test because of visa and other travel formalities," Qasim, a former Test spinner, said.
"So we have decided to wait and see how things go in the first Test and feel if there is a necessity to send a replacement for Younus then we will consider sending Misbah. But at this stage we don't think there is any need to send anyone to New Zealand," he said.
However on returning home from London, Butt had told reporters that Misbah would be joining the team for the second Test.
Meanwhile, sources in the PCB said that although Butt had agreed to Yousuf's request to send Misbah, he changed his mind after the selectors expressed their unhappiness over the batsman's decision to play league cricket in Bangladesh midway through a premier domestic tournament.
The sources said the selectors were also unhappy with Abdul Razzaq and Rana Naved for insisting on going to Bangladesh during the Quaid-e-Azam trophy.
"The selectors feel that any player who is not willing to give priority to the Quaid Trophy should not be given preferential treatment," the source added.
Topics mentioned in this article
Cricket
Sreesanth
India Cricket Team
New Zealand Cricket Team
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