The Chief Executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Majid Khan, said from Lahore that the team would not be a specialist one-day side, an experiment successfully accomplished by England in Sharjah last week. ``We have our own policies and we don't follow others,'' Majid said. He added: ``Both Australia and England kept faith (in Sharjah tournament) on most of the players who even play in Tests.
``India or West Indies are unconcerned with this experiment nor there is any ICC binding on us. We will plan according to our requirements and resources.''
The PCB supremo, however, refused to confirm or deny if there would be radical changes in the Pakistan team for the Sharjah tournament. ``I don't select the team, the selectors do and they are meeting on Friday,'' he commented.
However, investigations reveal that there might be some surprises in store for the cricket enthusiasts.
Wasim Akram's captaincy is in serious danger and some established players are under tight scrutiny because of fitness and on-and-off the performances.
Sources said the PCB had specially flown three of its most-trusted men to Sharjah as observers. Their job was to carefully see things and keep a watchful eye on the manoeuvres of the players.
However, the sources were unclear who were the three officials but anticipated that they were Salim Altaf (Chairman of Selectors), Waqar Ahmad (Secretary, PCB), and Tahir Memon (consultant).
The sources maintained that the task of those people was to submit a detailed report with suggestions as what were the main reasons for an inconsistent performance, specially in Sharjah.
``The PCB had anticipated in advance that something might happen in there,'' sources said when asked why the PCB didn't concentrate on the team when it was playing in Pakistan. The sources, when pressed, confirmed that certain quarters suspected involvement of some of the players in match-fixing.
``These things can't be proved but still the players involved can be slowly sidelined. And that's what happened last year,'' sources claimed. The Chairman of Selectors, Salim Altaf, is due in Lahore on Wednesday and is expected to sit with two of his other 'secret mission' officials to prepare a report on the Sharjah tournament. Their report will also be compared with the paper submitted by the captain (Wasim Akram) and coach (Haroon Rasheed).
Sources also said the report prepared by Javed Burki in March 1995, when he was the Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee, might also be evaluated and studied before the officials reach on the fate of some cricketers. Burki had flown to Zimbabwe and had met several players when the betting and match-fixing allegations first surfaced. An Australian trio had accused Salim Malik of offering them bribe to throw away the Karachi Test which Pakistan won by one wicket.
Burki, who is said to be in possession of several very valid and important documents, had also meet ICC Chief Executive David Richards on way to Karachi. Upon his return, he had told the Press that he had sufficient evidence which can put some cricketers behind bars. Burki, according to minutes of a March 1995 meeting, had also informed the cricket board officials that some of the players were linked to and associated with some bookies. Burki had mentioned the names of those players and the bookies with whom they had connections.
Burki is now the Adviser to the President of Pakistan on cricket affairs.