Pakistan Assembly asks Ijaz Butt for explanation

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has been summoned by Pakistan's national assembly for a hearing on October 11 to explain the reasons for the controversy-ridden tour of England, as well as his allegations against Andrew Strauss's team and their subsequent withdrawal. He will also be questioned regarding Younis Khan's continued absence from the Pakistan side.

Apart from Butt, the Assembly also summoned the board's legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi, former team manager Yawar Saeed, coaches Waqar Younis, Aaqib Javed and Ijaz Ahmed and chief selector Mohsin Khan to the hearing.

"The hearing is being held to review the performance of the team in England, the controversies that took place in England and the way the Pakistan board has handled things so far," Iqbal Muhammad Ali, chairman of the committee, told PTI. "The committee wants to know the reasons for the shoddy performances and also how the Pakistan team got entangled into such serious controversies. We also want to know the reason for Butt's statement against the England board and his U-turn, and to review the selection process."

The PCB will also have to explain why Younis Khan was being ignored for selection when all the other players punished after the 2009-10 tour of Australia, with the exception of Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, had been pardoned and brought back to the team. "We want to ask the chairman to explain what crime Younis has committed that he (Butt) is not willing to give clearance to the selectors to pick Younis," Ali said.

Former Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas had recently urged the PCB to reappoint Younis as captain to lead the side out of its current crisis. Pakistan's tour of England was riven by controversy, with a News of the World expose alleging that fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, and Test captain Salman Butt, had conspired to bowl no-balls on demand. The ICC provisionally suspended the trio, leaving Pakistan without a Test captain.