Kamal Ghorui
Senior selection committee member Aleem Dar has resigned from his position with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) following the national team’s exit from the T20 World Cup, news agency PTI reported on Tuesday, quoting sources. His resignation comes after Pakistan failed to reach the semifinals of the tournament.“Former ICC elite panel umpire Dar has sent his resignation which is yet to be accepted,” a source close to the PCB was quoted as saying by PTI.Dar serves on the selection committee alongside former Test cricketers Asad Shafiq and Aaqib Javed. As per the PTI report, Dar stepped down due to concerns over the authority given to head coach Mike Hesson in team selection decisions.“Aleem is very upset that when the World Cup squad was being selected he had resisted the inclusion of Babar Azam and Shadab Khan in the squad without any performance but Hesson insisted on having them,” the source was quoted as saying by PTI.The source added that Dar was surprised that captain Salman Agha and other selectors did not oppose the coach’s role in the process.“Aleem had also insisted that when Babar and Shadab could be called in without performance, Muhammad Rizwan should be included in place of Usman Khan because of his experience but no one supported him.”Pakistan lost to India in the group stage and then to England in the Super Eight stage, while their match against New Zealand was washed out. They defeated Sri Lanka in their final Super Eight fixture but still did not qualify for the semifinals.According to the PTI report, the team’s performance has caused concern within the PCB and among figures in the government.The PCB has also reportedly imposed fines of PKR 50 lakh on each player after the team failed to reach the semifinals. The Express Tribune reported on Monday that PCB “officials have clearly told the players that enough pampering has been done — from now on, financial benefits will only come with performance.”
