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Manager Yawar Saeed was Thursday relieved of his duties because of his "professional commitments" as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) continued to play its favourite pasttime the game of musical chairs.

In his place Brig Khawaja Mohammad Nasir was asked to take the hot seat he first occupied in 1999 for almost a year before he was shown the door.

Managers come in short supply, so it seems and the PCB has provided a classic example that there's no production line mass producing this breed by bringing in Nasir again for another stint.

Nasir will be on his way to Colombo "shortly" to join the Pakistan team before the first Test against Australia starting Oct 3 but only time will tell what magic wand he is taking along to stem the rot.

While Nasir prepared to fly out, Yawar dismissed reports that he had been sacked. "I have already been on tour for a long time and with the Australia series being played at neutral venues, I can no longer afford to be away from my job at the Lakson Group of Companies," he told Dawn after meeting Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, the chairman of PCB.

Terming the two-and-a-half-hour meeting as "cordial", Yawar dubbed as PCB's "indispensible official" said that he was leaving after serving the orginisation for 18 years in one capacity or the other and had no regrets whatsoever. "I have had a wonderful association with the Board and am going out on a happy note."

Yawar, who played for English county Somerset during his heydays, had initially been appointed till next year's World Cup in South Africa by the then chairman of PCB, Mujib-ur-Rehman in 1999 but as is the case with virtually everything in Pakistan, nothing reaches the finish. A 3-0 hammering by Australia Down Under led to Yawar's downfall.

Yawar, 72, wished Nasir well, saying he was no newcomer to cricket. Indeed he isn't and returns to manage a side that has badly fallen apart amid reports of rift between the players.

But Yawar, who returned from Colombo in the wee hours of Thursday, denied such reports and said that Pakistan team's slump in form witnessed in recent tournaments was because of excessive cricket. "The only thing that went wrong was that we lost matches because of poor physical condition of some of the players."

"Only eight weeks ago we were the champions but the players being away from home for two months took its toll. Injuries to Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana was one of the main reasons," said Yawar who first managed Pakistan in New Zealand as early as 1985.

"As long as the team is winning, all is well but once you begin to lose you have accusing fingers being pointed at you."

Yawar felt that with the World Cup still four months away, Pakistan had tremendous chances of winning the competition provided they are able to find two or three new boys, especially for the opening slot.

The induction of new players for the series against Australia is good because for the World Cup "we'll be needing young legs especially in fielding".

© Dawn