Akhtar has been a problem: Former PCB chief

“In the last two years he was a problem for the coach, captain and the board and we could see he was more interested in playing for himself rather than the team and this attitude was having a bad effect on others,” Khan said.

Khan felt it was better not to have Akhtar in the team as it has always done well without him.

“When he didn’t play the team did well and won. I think the fame and pampering he got early on in his career got to his head and he couldn’t handle it maturely,” he stated.

The former PCB chief said the only way left to deal with Akhtar was involve his family in counseling him.

“The best way to handle him is to sit down and talk to him or ask his family members to talk sense into him and he would come around,” he told Geo TV.

Apart from the Akhtar, Khan said the PCB should also give some attention to the plight of cricketers banned by it for participating in the rebel Indian Cricket League.

Khan felt the PCB should lift the ban on these players and allow them to earn their living.

“…I have always felt that if a player is playing cricket professionally and for his bread and butter he should not be stopped from earning some extra money,” Khan said.

“As long as the players don’t avoid national duty and attend training camps when required there is nothing wrong if they play in a private league.

“I would request the board to look into their cases again and show some leniency with them. As long as they are allowed to represent their country when required the board should not stop them from playing in domestic cricket,” he added.

Khan was chairman of the board between 2003 and late 2006 before he was replaced by Dr Nasim Ashraf.

In another interesting disclosure, Khan said late coach Bob Woolmer’s tragic death continues to affect the Pakistani cricketers.

“Woolmer’s tragic death is one of the reasons for the team’s inconsistent showing against good teams in recent months,” he revealed.

“His absence is still being felt by the team,” he added

Khan disclosed that when Woolmer was coach he was insulted several times by some players who also misbehaved with him on being dropped from the team.

“He told me about it and I was very upset and wanted to take immediate action against such players but Woolmer said I shouldn’t interfere as being coach he was supposed to handle all this and most of the time he spoke to the players and cooled them down,” he recalled.