KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board on Sunday goofed up badly when it left out the name of batting great Javed Miandad in a list of former Test captains and players invited to attend a seminar.
Although PCB insisted it was an error, the damage seems to have been done already.
The Board issued a press release announcing the names of 27 players who have been invited to attend the seminar in Lahore on November 17 to discuss the strategy for next year's World Cup.
Surprisingly, Miandad's name was missing from the list of 27 as was that of former captains, Hanif Muhammad and Saleem Malik.
In Malik's case, officials said he was ignored because of the life ban on him for his alleged involvement in match fixing. As far as Hanif is concerned, the former batsman was ailing and could not come down to Lahore for the seminar.
Malik is scheduled to meet PCB Chairman Nasim Ashraf later in the day to discuss the possibility of filing an appeal against his life ban with the Board.
Asked about the absence of Miandad's name at a news conference, Ashraf said it had happened inadvertently.
"It is a mistake. I have spoken to him myself and he is coming," Ashraf said.
However, his reply left many people wondering just how the Board could miss out on one of Pakistan's cricketing legends, particularly when the list includes some quite unknown names like those of Illyas Ahmed, Ehteshamuddin, Shafiq Ahmed, Agha Zahid and Pervaz Sajjad who played just a few Tests.
The list also includes Abdul Raquib who has not played any Test and went to India in 1978.
Miandad, who appeared in 124 Tests, has been a regular critic of the Board and its policies since being removed unceremoniously as coach in 2004 by former chairman Shaharyar Khan and replaced by foreigner Bob Woolmer.
Dr. Ashraf also announced the Board would be launching a welfare trust for former players and their families soon on the lines of a similar scheme in India.
"The scheme is being drafted and hopefully it would be approved at our next meeting in December," he said.
