‘When you are on good terms with captain, the coach gets angry’ – Abdur Rehman accuses Pakistan team management of favouritism

Pakistan cricket board (PCB) has been under the scanner lately after many cricketers slammed their selection policy. While pacer Wahab Riaz claimed the team management tends to drop players after few bad performances, all-rounder Shoaib Malik accused PCB of favouritism and nepotism. Moreover, many cricket stars even claimed that current Pakistan skipper Babar Azam doesn’t have any control over the team selection. Speaking of the same, former Pakistan spinner Abdur Rehman made some major claims.

Rehman suggested there are two different groups in the Pakistan cricket team – one for the coach and another for the captain. Hence, if a player is in good terms with the captain, the coach gets angry and vice-versa. The former cricketer also opined that players are selected in the national team on the basis of personal preferences and liking rather than performances.

A lot depends on the likes or dislikes of coach and captain: Abdur Rehman

“Being a yes-man for the captain has benefits and drawbacks. When you are on good terms with the captain then the coach gets angry. A lot depends on the likes or dislikes of those involved. If the coach likes you then the captain won’t. Then one tries to take the player out because either he doesn’t like him or the player in question doesn’t spend time with him,” Rehman said in an interaction with Cricket Pakistan.

The former spinner, who represented Pakistan between 2007 and 2014, also claimed that captains and coaches use different tactics to remove players from the national team if they don’t like them. Opining that this culture is not appropriate for Pakistan cricket, Rehman also said that players should get selected on merit rather than favouritism.

“They start hating the player. They don’t see how important a player is for Pakistan. They don’t look at performances or anything else then. All his previous performances or his career is forgotten and attempts are made to get the player out of the side. Whoever it is, until the player is out of the side, the person who doesn’t like him won’t be at peace. This is not good for Pakistan or the players. This is Pakistan’s team and not a team of the coach or captain,” the 41-year-old added.

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