Zaka Ashraf, the former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman held responsible for starting a slide in the fortunes of the national team, has denied any groupings in the dressing room. Ashraf also brushed aside that his decision to appoint Shaheen Shah Afridi as the national T20 captain and Shan Masood as the Test captain after last year’s ODI World Cup had sparked a rift in the dressing room. “There were no differences between Babar Azam or Shaheen even after I decided to have the latter as the T20 captain,” Ashraf said on a local news channel.

“No, the unity didn’t end (after removing Babar Azam as captain). In fact, the unity improved. When we told him to play as a player, which is his talent, but as a captain, his performance is not good, he agreed.” Shaheen was sacked as the national T20 captain after just a series in New Zealand and was also dropped for the second Test against Bangladesh last week due to poor form.

New Chairman Mohsin Naqvi reinstated Babar as the T20 skipper, while he has also been struggling for form and faced intense criticism after Pakistan’s lacklustre show in the T20 World Cup this year.

Ashraf also defended his decision to appoint Shan and Muhammad Hafeez as the team director.

“Hafeez is “a very honest man” and no, there was no grouping. The team was good. And, we brought Shan Masood as the captain.

“He was a very good captain. He is still a very good player. He is still a captain in England’s counties.

“And, I made Shaheen Shah the captain of the T20I team. That was also a very good decision,” he said.

Ashraf, who headed the interim cricket management committee appointed by the government from June to January, said he had taken the right decision to bring in Hafeez as team director.

“Mohammad Hafeez is an excellent cricketer and a very honest person, we brought him along. Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, and these players, we brought them along so that the coaching staff is with the team,” he added.

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