"Why has only Hafeez been held accountable and not Wahab Riaz?" - Inzamam-ul-Haq questions PCB's decision to remove Mohammad Hafeez as Team Director
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq criticized the board for removing Mohammad Hafeez as team director while retaining chief selector Wahab Riaz.
Hafeez was made the director after Pakistan's dismal performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup, but his tenure ended in just three months. During the period, the Men in Green suffered a 0-3 Test series whitewash in Australia and a 1-4 defeat in the T20Is against New Zealand.
Speaking on a TV show, Inzamam lashed out at the PCB for Hafeez's unfair treatment compared to Wahab Riaz.
"Can someone explain the reasoning behind removing Muhammad Hafeez as team director but retaining Wahab Riaz as chief selector after the Australian and New Zealand tours? Weren't both appointed at same time and given the same responsibilities so why has only Hafeez been held accountable and not Wahab Riaz?" asked Inzamam.
He also added that the board should treat former players and captains with the same respect as the chairman.
"The PCB Chairman no doubt is a highly respectable position but don’t former captains and stalwarts deserve the same amount of respect from the top board officials," Inzamam added.
Inzamam resigned as Pakistan selector during the 2023 World Cup over conflict of interest allegations.
The Men in Green endured several turmoils, including questions over skipper Babar Azam, during their woeful campaign that ended with the side missing out on semi-final qualification.
"I was hurt by this behaviour from the chairman" - Inzamam-ul-Haq
Inzamam-ul-Haq also claimed former Pakistan chairman Zaka Ashraf treated him disrespectfully during the conflict of interest allegations, leading to his departure as chief selector.
However, Ashraf stepped down as chairman himself in February, replaced by Moshin Naqvi.
Inzamam detailed the entire episode during the allegations by saying:
"We had a meeting scheduled at the PCB offices after this story about me having a conflict of interest as chief selector broke out. I was sitting with (PCB officials) Salman Naseer and Aliya Rasheed waiting for the chairman to come. But he went to the academy and from there called Naseer and Aliya to meet him and I was told to wait as he would not be seeing me. Only Aliya returned after a time and told me about the inquiry committee."
He added:
"I was hurt by this behaviour from the Chairman. Every detail of agents and their companies who work with players are available with ICC and PCB and it was not such a big deal and I told them I would resign and they can complete their inquiry."
Apart from the ping pong among the administrators, Pakistan had to make captaincy changes after Babar Azam stepped down from the role in all formats after the World Cup last year.
While Shan Masood was named Test skipper, Shaheen Afridi took over the reins in T20Is. The ODI captain is yet to be named.