Dont blame ICL, fault is of BCCI, PCB: Saleem and Sarfraz

Former Pakistan cricketers Saleem Malik and Sarfraz Nawaz have come down heavily on Indian and Pakistani cricket boards for not talking to its players, which they feel might have stopped many from joining the Indian Cricket League (ICL).

Mumbai, Aug 23 : Former Pakistan cricketers Saleem Malik and Sarfraz Nawaz have come down heavily on Indian and Pakistani cricket boards for not talking to its players, which they feel might have stopped many from joining the Indian Cricket League (ICL).

Both said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) could have obviated this embarrassment had they been willing to have a meaningful dialogue with the players.

"The BCCI and the PCB created extenuating circumstances that prompted them to consider greener pastures. Our players don't have stable jobs. What cricketers draw in this part of the world is peanuts when you compare it with the salary scales in England and Australia," Nawaz said.

Pointing out that the board's Chief Operating Officer, Shafqat Naghmi, "walks away with a fat cheque of Rs 10 lakhs per month," he asked, "Why shouldn't a cricketer take home at least Rs 2.5 lakhs?"

"You can't malign them as traitors. It is easy for a young Mohammad Asif to turn down the bait of Rs 10 crores, but what about Inzamam-ul-Haq, who has been hurried into the December of his career," Nawaz added.

He went on to say that both boards should have consulted the International Cricket Council (ICC) when the ICL was gaining steam. "There is no doubt in my mind that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) would have done that," he said.

Former skipper Saleem Malik expressed the fear that Pakistan cricket could plunge headlong into disaster after the unceremonious exits of its big-match players.

"I am told that the board tried to talk them out of the rebel league, although I doubt whether there was any conviction in it. To be honest, I don't think the PCB cares," he said."They made a mess of Razzaq, and now they conveniently ignore him for the Twenty20 Championship," The News quoted Malik, as saying.

"He (Razzaq) was made to open, bat one down, sometimes even at eight, but he always delivered for us. Show me a single player in Pakistan who can hold a candle to him. You many argue that Shahid Afridi is around, but isn't he consistently inconsistent?" Malik added.

ANI