Finally, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Tauqir Zia was forced to draw the line. In a move that sports officials in India could emulate, Zia on Monday ‘overruled’ the PCB’s decision to name his son Junaid as captain of the under-23 team for this month’s Emerging Nations tournament in Sri Lanka.Zia’s younger son, Tallal, played for the Pakistan under-15 team in the Asia Cup held in Dubai recently.The PCB’s official statement on Monday said: ‘‘Junaid is too young to lead’’. He will be replaced as captain by Qaiser Abbas but will accompany the team as deputy to Abbas in the three-nation tournament, which also features Sri Lanka and India.The decision comes in the wake of growing criticism of Zia jr’s debut for the senior team against Bangladesh in the current one-day series.Junaid, a 19-year-old fast bowler, made his one-day international debut at Multan last week but returned wicketless after conceding 35 runs in seven overs. His selection was criticised in the local media, but Junaid returned to claim 3/21 in the second one-day international at Faisalabad.Though the decision comes just a day after Zia retired as a Lieutenant-General in the Pakistan Army, the controversy surrounding Junaid is not new. He first came into prominence at last year’s under-19 World Cup in New Zealand, where he was called for suspect action by an Indian match referee.The PCB chief then hired Australian coach Darryl Foster, who corrected Shoaib Akhtar’s action, to work on his son. With an improved action, Junaid made his first-class debut for Rawalpindi but he was far from impressive (16 wickets in six matches at 42 apiece).When contacted by The Indian Express, PCB CEO Rameez Raja said Zia had not overruled the decision. The practice within the selection committee was to send the names of the team and captain to the PCB chief for his approval. The names had been leaked before Zia Sr could take a decision, Raja said. (With agencies)
