Samiul Hasan: Aamir Sohail decides to retire? (24 Mar 1997)

Aamir Sohail decides to retire?

Samiul Hasan

KARACHI, March 24: Temperamental Aamir Sohail has decided to retire from international cricket after his latest row with the cricket board's chief executive, well informed sources said.

"There is some truth in the story. But I will formally announce the decision when I will think it is the right time," Aamir Sohail said from Lahore.

Sources close to the former captain said Aamir Sohail was heart-broken and dejected after whatever happened in the last 15 days. "When a player is humiliated and degraded by the head of the board, it happens. Aamir (Sohail) has decided not to be part of the team which has no respect or regard for him," Aamir Sohail's friend said.

Aamir Sohail, 30, was banned for 30 days on the alleged charge of misbehaviour with PCB Chief Executive Majid Khan during the National One-day Championship semi-final at Lahore.

Sohail, whose services to the Pakistan team and the sport are meritorious, was left out from the Sharjah-bound squad following the suspension order and is unlikely to be called for the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka between April 15 and 30 though his ban expires a day after the team leaves for Sri Lanka from Karachi on April 13.

"Majid Khan not only schemed to get him banned, he also spoiled Aamir Sohail's deal with Middlesex saying that he (Aamir Sohail) was a naughty boy and has been involved in misconduct. "Majid is reported to have also told Middlesex that Aamir Sohail would spoil the atmosphere of the county because of his unprofessional and arrogant behaviour," family sources said.

"If you look back at things that have happened in the last 10 months since Majid Khan has taken over, I have been relieved from vice-captaincy, then dropped from the home series against New Zealand and now banned for 30 days. Doesn't these things show what are the motives of the present cricket board," Aamir Sohail said from Lahore. However, Aamir Sohail apparently has decided not to bow out without creating another controversy.

Earlier this week, Aamir Sohail gave another life to the betting and bribery story and disclosed the names of the bookies and a couple of players allegedly involved in the scandal that surfaced in 1995 when three Australian player accused Salim Malik of offering them bribe to throw away the Karachi Test which Australia lost by one wicket.

In his latest seven-column interview, Aamir Sohail has questioned Wasim Akram's relations with one of the leading bookies, Zafar Ali Jojo, with whom the skipper often meets. "Some people seven say his (Wasim Akram) brother now maintains his own book. Why don't the authorities look into this matter?" Sohail has asked in his interview.

Aamir Sohail discloses that a player is suffering and is out of favours of the authorities after he took oath on the holy Quran that he will never be part of betting and bribery again.

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