Javed Miandad Slams ICC for Meddling in Pakistan Cricket's Affairs
Former cricketer Javed Miandad has slammed International Cricket Council saying that the body has no clue about what's good for the good of the sport in the country.
Pakistan's former captain Javed Miandad has accused the ICC of meddling in affairs related to the country's cricket and said the apex body did nothing for the benefit of the Asian team.
"The ICC is trying to meddle in the affairs of Pakistan cricket with no positive result. They have absolutely no idea about what is good for Pakistan cricket or who, for that matter, is running cricket in our country and how effective that management is," Miandad was quoted as saying by a Pakistan-based website. (Also read: ICC refuses to appoint umpires for Pakistan vs Zimbabwe | Pakistan appoints own umpires for series)
The former great said the ICC's insistence on having a democratic system in Pakistan cricket was misplaced.
"We have had a system in place for forty years or so. We were producing world beating cricketers and teams. Now the ICC are more interested in systems of government but do they know that in Pakistan we buy and sell votes? How will the ICC account for that? All they have are just empty slogans which do not help us at all," Miandad said. (Must read: Pakistan fans lap up tickets for series vs Zimbabwe)
"Now, with ICC's insistence, we have a system where the chairman isn't worried about being ousted and neither do his cronies. No one can remove this person and he is answerable to no one. So what have we gained?"
He said the ICC had now helped install a system of governance in the PCB which is untenable in Pakistani terms where an influential person can easily become a president.
Miandad also felt that ICC is not doing a great job in running the game.
"They spend more time and money in useless ventures such as the ACSU. Millions were spent on running it but where is it now? The ICC and its employees are living off the money contributed by its members so they really are not worried about doing anything too different."
He said instead of having some reputable ex-cricketers at the helm of ICC, "we have some unknown people running the show".
Miandad noted that Pakistan does not even have a players' association and that the ICC has no opinion on that.
"The PCB should have been run by former cricketers and not journalists or diplomats and the ICC should have insisted on this point, rather than coming out with empty slogans about democracy which have done nothing to improve the game in Pakistan," Miandad said.