Aamir's withdrawal a surprise (11 December 1998)

11 December 1998

Aamir's withdrawal a surprise

By Samiul Hasan

KARACHI, Dec 10: Aamir Sohail's surprise withdrawal from the second Test against Zimbabwe has triggered all sorts of rumours and speculations in cricket circles.

None of the team officials knew about the whereabouts of the temperamental left-hander till the morning of the match.

Team manager Azhar Zaidi told Dawn from Lahore that he received a telephone call from Sohail late Wednesday evening. "He (Sohail) said as he was not feeling well he would not check-in at the hotel on Wednesday evening. He however assured that he would come to the ground directly from his house and would be bang on time. But when we reached Gaddafi Stadium, he wasn't there," Zaidi said.

The manager claimed that he tried to contact Sohail's residence and finally when the line got through, a member of Sohail's family told him that he was sleeping.

"When I requested her to wake him, I was informed that he (Aamir Sohail) he was able to go to sleep at 3 am in the morning (of Thursday) because he was ill," Zaidi said.

Pakistan's stand-in captain, Moin Khan, said he was taken by surprise when he was told that he would be leading the side.

"Till Wednesday evening, I didn't know that Aamir Sohail was ill. In fact, when I boarded the team coach and found him missing, I inquired from the manager who said Aamir Sohail would be coming directly from his residence," said the wicket-keeper.

However, chairman of selectors, Wasim Bari, said he was informed by his colleague Salahuddin Ahmad late Wednesday evening that Aamir Sohail was a doubtful starter as he was not feeling well.

Aamir Sohail was not available for comments when this reporter tried to contact him by phone on Thursday. But his brother, when inquired about his health, said he was alright.

Pakistan coach Javed Miandad said he was shocked to learn that Sohail had pulled out of the second test because of illness. "He looked alright when we attended the team meeting immediately after the final training session on Wednesday. We dispersed after wishing everyone good luck in the Test.

"Aamir (Sohail), however, told me that he would meet PCB chairman Khalid Mahmood on Wednesday evening. He (Khalid Mahmood) came at the ground this morning but he didn't mention anything regarding his meeting with Aamir."

Miandad said upon learning that Aamir Sohail was not playing, he informed Moin Khan at about 8:45 a.m. to lead the team in the crucial Test.

Pakistan went into the match trailing 1-0 in the three-Test series after Zimbabwe notched up their maiden overseas victory at Peshawar by seven wickets last week.

"The team and the strategy had been finalizied last evening so I did not panic with the sudden loss of the captain. Moin took over the leadership while Mohammad Naveed Qureshi was inducted as opener," the coach said.

Miandad tried to play down Wednesday evening's incident between Sohail and selector Salahuddin Ahmad. "It was not a big issue. Salahuddin wanted to discuss the team with him (Aamir Sohail) but the captain refused saying the executive council has empowered the selectors to finalize the playing lineup so let them (selectors) take the decision," he said.

Cricket board chairman Khalid Mahmood said if Aamir Sohail regained fitness for the third Test he would return as captain. Mahmood admitted that he had a meeting with Sohail on Wednesday evening. "It was a routine meeting in which we discussed the reasons why the team was not performing well. I never got an impression that he was upset or frustrated," he added.

The PCB chairman was unaware of Sohail's cold-shoulder treatment to a member of the selection committee. "I don't know this happened last evening."

Source :: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)