da cassino online： Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan board, believes Bob Woolmershould not be giving out unnecessary statements to the media
Osman Samiuddin23-Dec-2004
Bob Woolmer: under pressure from his own board© Getty Images
Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan board, believes Bob Woolmershould not be giving out unnecessary statements to themedia. There were reports in some sections of thelocal press in Pakistan on Tuesday that Shaharyar had called Woolmer toask him to avoid making comments to the press. TheNews quoted sources within the board: “Basically thePCB chief told Woolmer he should only speak when it isabsolutely necessary to the press and only give issue-related statements.”The source added, “Shaharyar told him that too many statements didn’t help the team or thePCB and only made things more complicated foreveryone.” Apparently, Khan also discussed theincreasingly contentious issue of Woolmer’s website,which he has used often to answer criticism from thelocal media, and also his ongoing verbal battle withex-coach Javed Miandad.Abbas Zaidi, the PCB’s media director, toldCricinfo: “I cannot say exactly whether or not thechairman has spoken to Woolmer about it. But I cantell you that he does believe Woolmer shouldn’t bemaking all these comments, at least not to the extentthat he has been. The reasoning behind it is that itthen becomes a slanging match – he said this and hesaid that – and he should keep a distance from thesethings.”Zaidi did reveal that Shaharyar had spoken to the teamin Australia. “He believes there is no point incriticising the team further. They are already shakenand embarrassed, so hitting them while they are downwill further damage their morale. But he has conveyedto them some words of encouragement, as a chairman, totry and forget what has happened and move on toMelbourne [the venue of the second Test, which starts on December 26].”Shaharyar’s words of encouragement come in the faceof increasingly hysterical and trenchant criticism inPakistan at the nature of the team’s capitulation atPerth. Some journalists and ex-players have reignitedthe issue of Woolmer’s passport, questioning whether aforeign coach can work successfully with Pakistan.Even the Federal Minister of Sports, Ajmal Khan,weighed in with his views, claiming he didn’t think aforeign coach would communicate effectively withPakistani players.Most vocal has been Javed Miandad, who has repeatedlyquestioned Woolmer’s aptitude for the job as well ascasting doubt over his commitment. Miandad had reactedangrily to statements that Woolmer was seeking theservices of a sports psychologist for his “mentallyawed” team after the defeat. He told Dawn newspaper:”Criticising one’s own team with such remarks is aninsult of not only the players but of the entirenation, and it would be better if the coach handles thesituation by motivating the players. To me by usingthe word mental confusion, the coach is labelling hisplayers as mentally disturbed people and that is alsothe insult of the nation.”Zaidi responded to the barrage of criticism: “We runthe game, so we take the blame. The media arebasically relying on people for quotes who have beensacked by us. So it isn’t surprising that they aremaking these sort of comments.” There have been someex-players, however, like Imran Khan and Rameez Raja,who have cited poor technique, an outcome of poordomestic playing standards, as the cause of thedebacle.There were isolated outbreaks of public outrage too. InKarachi, for example, protestors burnt effigiesof the captain and coach in front of the Press Club.Around 150 protestors also smashed up a public television onTuesday.Zaidi said of the public reaction, “I think there is amisperception among the public that we are a verytalented and good side. The fact is that we are yet tobecome a good side and people should realise this.They have beaten India four times since the series athome, but that shouldn’t instill false optimism in thepublic.”