Waqar opposed Shoaib's selection

The advisory council of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was split over the inclusion of controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, highly placed sources said.

Shoaib's inclusion was strongly opposed by skipper Waqar Younis who also had the support of a couple of advisors who surrendered against their `powerful' colleagues and the selectors. But Waqar also put his foot down when he ensured the leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmad was selected who would be merely a "tourist" on the tour.

The selectors were unwilling to include Mushtaq on the basis of his performance in the last three Tests in six appearances. The selectors argued that Mushtaq was past his prime and averaged over 60 runs for each wicket he took in the last 17 months.

The selectors, interestingly, wanted to include Shahid Afridi. But Waqar pressed for Mushtaq's selection on the pretext that he wanted a genuine wrist spinner than a part-time leg-spinner. "In the end, a consensus was reached with Waqar getting Mushtaq and the selectors including Shoaib," sources said.

Only six weeks back, the "dummy" selectors had not included Shahid for the three-Test series against New Zealand after branding him as a one-day specialist. Their sudden about-turn is not only mind-boggling but shows their inconsistency and poor judgement.

As regards Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar was of the view that the pacer was not fully-fit and anticipated that he would vanish from the cricket scene if he broke down again. He added weight to his argument saying that Shoaib hasn't played any cricket and it was unwise to be drafted into the Test squad straightaway.

Ironically, Waqar wanted Fazle Akbar, the Peshawar bowler, who had missed last month's series in Sharjah only because the skipper wanted Kashif Raza of Sheikhupura.

Besides the fitness aspect, Waqar also brought to the notice of PCB Shoaib's attitude and poor disciplinary record. Waqar highlighted how Shoaib violated rules of the game during his brief visit to New Zealand when he refused to attend training sessions and threatened to talk directly to the PCB boss if insisted to practice with the team.

As soon as the advisory council meeting ended, Shoaib Akhtar was briefed in detail by one of the advisors about what happened within the four walls.

Not surprisingly, Shoaib is said to have held a meeting with some unidentified players and threatened the skipper with dire consequences if he didn't stop maligning his reputation.