Pakistan: Bukhari protests over selection of under-19 team (7 Jul 1998)

7 July 1998

Bukhari protests over selection of under-19 team

By Our Sports Reporter

KARACHI, July 6: The secretary of the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA), Prof Sirajul Islam Bukhari, has strongly protested to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over the selection of the Pakistan Under-19 team for the forthcoming tour of England.

In a letter to chairman Khalid Mahmood, Bukhari demanded severe punishment to those who manipulated the team that was picked up by the selectors "as the council has been cheated."

He added: "I am shocked to go through the team which carries no cricketers from the biggest nursery of Pakistan cricket, Karachi, except Hasan Raza, world's youngest ever Test player, who is already an established cricketer and who should have been the captain of Pakistan's junior team.

"This is the worst type of biased selection which amounts to victimisation of Karachi cricketers particularly after the unfortunate episode of the three Karachi cricketers namely Majid Mujtaba, Zamir Khan and Tariq Sabzwari who were sent back by Azhar Khan."

Bukhari recalled that Karachi had won the National Under-19 Championship nine times in the last 13 years. He further stressed that his association was holding the largest number of tournaments at the grassroots level besides organising annual talent hunt schemes.

Bukhari urged the PCB chairman Khalid Mahmood to investigate the tampering of the list and order fresh selections or restore Faisal Iqbal and Shiraz Haider in the team "though Majid Mujtaba and Zamir Khan thoroughly deserve selection on their performances in the last two domestic seasons on merit."

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