Former PCB chairman Ijaz Butt on Wednesday said he stands by his statement that there was a rift in the Pakistan cricket team even as Mohammed Hafeez and Misbah-ul-Haq have dismissed such comments publicly.
Butt had said Hafeez and coach Whatmore were trying to sideline Misbah, a comment, which prompted the PCB to ask Misbah and Hafeez to hold an impromptu press conference and deny the allegations.
Hafeez said that Butt’s comments were damaging Pakistan’s reputation.
However, Butt said what he said was nothing but truth.
“Both Hafeez and Whatmore support and back each other and that has put great pressure on Misbah, affecting his performance. I am doing nothing to damage Pakistan cricket. I am just saying what nearly everyone is saying since the South Africa tour,” Butt said.
Differences in the team, dressing room politics and intrigues and manipulations to force a captain to step down are nothing new in Pakistan cricket.
In the recent past in 2009 Younis Khan was forced to step down as captain after some players ganged up against him and went to the then chairman Butt to complain that Younis’ behaviour and attitude was not acceptable to them.
Interestingly earlier in the same year the board removed Shoaib Malik as captain after similar complaints against him.
