Lahore, June 26 Former Pakistan batsman Aamer Sohail has backed Mohammad Hafeez who is under the scanner for going public with his personal COVID-19 result after he tested positive as per Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) results.
Hafeez got his test done personally on Wednesday and wrote on Twitter: After Tested positive COVID-19 acc to PCB testing Report yesterday,as 2nd opinion & for satisfaction I personally went to Test it again along with my family and here I along with my all family members are reported Negetive Alham du Lillah. May Allah keep us all safe."
PCB CEO Wasim Khan expressed his displeasure after the seasoned all-rounder went public with personal results.
Sohail said the entire matter of testing players was handled badly by PCB and Hafeez cannot be pulled up for going public with his result as he is not a centrally contracted player.
"The whole Mohammad Hafeez COVID-19 test fiasco has been a matter of embarrassment for Pakistan and I fail to understand how this matter was handled so badly by the PCB," Sohail wrote in his blog for PakPassion.net.
"Firstly tests were done after the squad was announced and instead of doing all tests in one laboratory, players were sent to different facilities for tests resulting in conflicting reports.
"Without jumping the gun, they should have done scrutiny of those results and if needed got them redone to confirm before going public with them.
"And to expect Mohammad Hafeez to not go public with results of his COVID-19 test when PCB had announced that he had tested positive would be unrealistic as he is not bound by any code of conduct which would be the case if he was a centrally contracted player," the 53-year old former southpaw pointed.
Sohail also questioned bowling coach Waqar Younis' judgement as to how he kept Muhammad Musa out of Pakistan's squad for the tour of England.
"I am curious as to why Musa Khan, who was hailed as a Test player and given a debut against Australia, was then discarded from the Pakistan squad bound for England.
"This shows a huge flaw in bowling coach Waqar Younis's judgement as it's difficult to understand why Musa didn't find a place in the original squad.
"He could well make it to England given the Covid-19 tests situation, but the fact is that he wasn't deemed to be good enough to be part of the initial squad whereas Sohail Khan has been brought back into the fold."
Sohail also criticised spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed, saying the former Pakistan leggie has to repay Pakistan Cricket Board's consistent faith in him.
Given that the state of pitches in England will be very fresh due to no cricket being played so far, off-spinners are not likely to figure much, but fast-bowlers and leg-spinners will be of much more use.
"We all know that Yasir Shah has been struggling to perform in Tests and Shadab Khan, if he does make it to England will need the services of a leg-spinner as a bowling coach. So, to take Mushtaq Ahmed on the tour of England as a spin bowling coach is a logical decision.
"However, there are huge doubts about what he actually brings to the table in terms of a proven track record in helping players to improve. However, since PCB have entrusted him with the role of a spin bowling coach, one can only presume that they believe in him, but it's about time he achieved and repaid PCB's faith in him."
( With inputs from IANS )
