Afridi fumes over Waqar role

KARACHI: A perfect storm is brewing in Pakistan cricket as Shahid Afridi and Waqar Younis are on a collision course after developing serious differences during the recently-concluded One-day International series against the West Indies.

Afridi, Pakistan’s limited-overs captain, is so extremely displeased with the way the team’s coach is running the team’s affairs that he is planning to meet Ijaz Butt, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, to inform him about his grievances against Waqar.

Sources close to Afridi revealed that the allrounder is ‘considering his options’ and will take a final decision after meeting with Butt in Lahore sometime next week.

Afridi is returning home from the Caribbean on Sunday (today).

Waqar, Pakistan’s coach, wants to be the one calling all the shots and that has really irked Afridi, said a source.

The former Test pacer, according to the sources, is also at loggerheads with Mohsin Khan, Pakistan’s chief selector. Mohsin has been hinting that Waqar overrules the squads picked by the national selection committee.

Mohsin even threatened to resign after his recommendations were overruled by the PCB while announcing Pakistan’s 15-man Test squad for this month’s series against the West Indies.

In the Caribbean last week, Afridi’s relations with Waqar almost reached breaking point when the coach insisted that he will pick the playing elevens. Afridi mulled over the option of missing the last two One-day Internationals but was later convinced by other team officials to carry on.

“Once he is back home, Afridi will seek a meeting with Ijaz Butt and inform him about the problems he is having with the coach,” said a source.