Azhar Mahmood says PCB should have listened to his clarification

Pakistan former bowling coach Azhar Mahmood has said that Pakistan Cricket board (PCB) should have given him a chance to clarify and answer about their respective departments.

“The reason that I was given was that the board wants to introduce new faces in the cricketing structure,” said Mahmood in an interview to a private channel. The statement comes weeks after PCB's announcement that it would not extend the contracts of former head coach Mickey Arthur and other coaching staff after Pakistan failed to qualify for the semifinals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 and finished only at the fifth spot.

Mahmood said that despite being the bowling coach he didn’t have much say in the selection matters, an issue that he raised with the board as well. Mahmood further revealed that former head coach Mickey Arthur was dominating force when it comes to team selection.

“After Pakistan won the Champions Trophy, Arthur became more powerful and he took all the major decisions along chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq and captain Sarfaraz but Mickey was dominating,” he added.

Speaking about skipper Sarfaraz, Mahmood said he is  a good captain in limited overs cricket and would learn with the passage of time. “Sarfraz is wonderful when it comes to captaining T20. He did well in ODIs too, where he won us the Champions Trophy. He is still young and can improve in all three formats,” he said.