LONDON: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt has yet again hit headlines for the wrong reasons after he expressed his displeasure over the ICC ODI team of the year in which only one Pakistani player Umar Gul found a place.
According to reports filtering in from the ceremony, Ijaz was so upset with the composition of ICC ODI team of the year announced during Annual Awards function in London on Monday, that he directly pointed fingers at former West Indian captain Clive Lloyd, the chairman of the jury that finalised the side.
“The PCB chief waited for the media to talk of Lloyd to discuss the announcement of the ICC ODI team and as soon as the conference started, he raised his hand and said he wanted to ask a question as well,” the reports said.
Addressing Lloyd directly, Ijaz said that he was disappointed to see only one Pakistani cricketer finding a place in the team whereas other players from the nation had also done well in ODIs and should have been considered.
“Lloyd explained that number of deserving performers were not in the team because the jury while selecting the team had to focus on the balance of the side and could not afford to have a plethora of slow or pace bowlers,” the report said.
Sources said Ijaz was visibly upset with the omission of off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and batsman Misbah-ul-Haq, whom he felt had done enough to win spots in the ICC ODI team of the year, which otherwise included four Indians and three Sri Lankans.
The jury overlooked Wahab Riaz and Azhar Ali for the Emerging Player of the Year award and handed the honour to West Indian leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo.
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