PCB 'not impressed' with Saqlain Mushtaq's comments on MS Dhoni's retirement

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is reportedly not happy with the remarks made by former Test cricketer and current Head of Players Development at the High Performance Centre, Saqlain Mushtaq, on the retirement of Indian cricketer, MS Dhoni.

MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on the 15th of August after having played more than 500 games for India. Speaking on the former Indian captain's retirement, Saqlain had remarked that he was hurt because the BCCI didn't treat a big player like Dhoni well enough.

Saqlain Mushtaq said in a video on his YouTube channel:

“I always say positive things and try not to spread negativity in any way but I think I should say this. This is kind of a defeat of BCCI. They did not treat a big player like him in the right way. The retirement shouldn’t have happened like this. This is coming straight from my heart and I believe millions of his fans feel the same way. I’m really sorry to the BCCI that I’m saying this but they didn’t treat Dhoni well, I’m hurt.”

The comments have reportedly not been taken well by the PCB, who instructed Saqlain to not pass such comments in videos, especially as he is a serving member of the board.

A source said:

"The PCB was not impressed by Saqlain Mushtaq for over the board praise of Dhoni and his obvious interference in Indian cricket affairs when he criticized the BCCI for not giving Dhoni a proper farewell match."

PCB has banned HPC coaches from running private YouTube channels

The source added that the likes of Faisal Iqbal, Muhammad Wasim, Basit Ali and many others have also been warned as they have YouTube channels of their own.

"Many of these coaches were managing their channels on Youtube but have now been told clearly that since they are employees of the board, they can't work on Youtube and secondly even while giving interviews in the media they have to first seek clear permission from the board. Obviously they are employed with the board and they have been told they have to either follow terms of their contract and service rules or decide what they want to do."

Moreover, reports have also emerged that the star-studded coaching panel selected by the PCB for the National High-Performance Centre in Lahore has been officially barred from running privately-operated YouTube channels. The PCB is also believed to have put forth some guidelines and contractual obligations regarding the matter.