PCB to take up Inzamam's exclusion with ICC

The PCB can't believe the much-feted Inzamam didn't make the World XI © Getty Images

Saleem Altaf, the director of cricket operations of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), will take up the issue of Inzamam-ul-Haq's exclusion from the Super Series squads at the ICC Chief Executive's Committee meeting in Dubai starting on Sunday. The ICC Super Series will involve matches between Australia and a World XI, to be played in Australia in October.

Abbas Zaidi, the PCB's director of board operations, said that Altaf would not question the integrity of the ICC selectors, but would present Pakistan's view that clearer methods and criteria were needed for selecting the World XI teams. "This is a follow-up to the letter we've already sent to the ICC outlining the outrage and resentment in Pakistan over the exclusion of Inzamam from the ICC World eleven Test and one-day teams that play Australia in the Super Series next month," Zaidi was quoted as saying in The News, a Pakistan-based daily. "We are not asking the ICC to reconsider Inzamam's selection for the World eleven squads but we are only saying it would be better if the ICC make its committees more broad-based."

Zaidi said that the PCB would ideally like to have a representative on the selection panel. "Obviously the PCB comes under pressure as to what it is doing to protect and promote its players and cricket at the ICC level when such a thing happens that Inzamam is not considered good enough for selection in either the Test or one-day squad," he said. "[Altaf] would also stress on the need to have more country representation on the ICC selection committee on rotation basis with each country getting an equal chance on the committee."

Inzamam has scored 940 Test runs at just under 59 since the start of 2004. As a one-day player, he averages 46.14 with the bat in that period.