Former PCB Chairman accuses BCCI of conspiracy to keep out key Pakistan players

Former PCB Chairman has ignited India-Pakistan controversy

Former PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf has ignited controversy by making a slightly bizarre accusation, that the BCCI has hatched a conspiracy against key Pakistan players so that they are not allowed to play cricket.

Speaking to The Dawn, Ashraf said, "It's a conspiracy hatched against Pakistan cricket by the Indian lobby to get our key spinners suspended. PCB should have appealed to the International Cricket Council (ICC) in the Mohammad Hafeez bowling action case.

Going on to press his point, Ashraf stated, "The suspensions of Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal at the crucial time of the World Cup caused great damage to Pakistan in the mega event."

BCCI has taken all possible steps to ruin Pakistan cricket: Ashraf

The former chairman also talked about how he perceives the PCB is following a policy of ‘pleasing the BCCI’, and supporting the ‘Big Three’, without getting any favours in return.

"PCB preferred to send their bowlers for biomechanics test to Chennai despite the fact that the same kind of labs were working in Australia and South Africa as well.

“I don’t know for which benefit the PCB is pleasing the BCCI when the latter has been taking all steps to ruin Pakistan cricket.

“The PCB supported the ‘Big Three’, the brainchild of India, but so far in return the PCB has not even received [confirmation of] a bilateral series.”

No solid ground to contest Hafeez ban: PCB

A PCB official said that the Board had decided that there had been no solid ground to contest Hafeez’s ban, and that Chennai was chosen as the venue for the test because the player had suggested it himself and that Chennai had the only lab which had cleared many cricketers — including both Hafeez and Ajmal — in the past.

“The average degree level of Hafeez’s bowling action was 19 against the permissible 15-degree limit,” stated the PCB official.

On back of announcements from the Indian side of the divide that a bilateral series cannot take place as long as political violence goes on, this latest accusation sees India-Pakistan cricket relationships sink to its lowest point of recent times.