Three years after his appointment, Inzamam-ul-Haq finally announced his resignation as Pakistan cricket team’s chief selector on Wednesday.
His departure has perhaps come as a blessing in disguise for Pakistan cricket as Inzamam failed to convince former cricketers, experts and more importantly the board that he is the right option going forward.
Saleem Khaliq, one of Pakistan’s most renowned sports journalists, wrote:
Inzamam had a successful career as a cricketer but his stint as the chief selector is laced with failures. Many allegations including nepotism, destroying careers of many players, one-man show and foreign tours for entertainment were hurled at him.
As per the contract details, Inzamam was earning Rs. 1.2 million every month as his basic salary.
He was to be awarded 25% bonus if Pakistan were to win any series whereas 100% bonus for any ICC tournament victory.
In addition to this, according to Daily Express, Inzamam used his position to avail benefits amounting to more than Rs. 60 million in these three years.
Being a chief selector comes with great responsibility as the selector has the power to make or break the careers of players. Choosing players on merit should be the criteria but often that was not the case.
To sum up the failures, Inzamam-ul-Haq failed to:
Further reports suggested that Inzamam also overshadowed the role of other selection committee members, which included Tauseef Ahmed, Wajahatullah Wasti and Wasim Haider. This is one of the primary reasons why only Inzamam has been criticized by the media, fans and other former players.
Tavir Ahmed, a former Pakistan Test cricketer, blamed Inzamam for normalizing the concept of nepotism and paving a path for his nephew Imam-ul-Haq.
I said this during a show, I do consider him a legend, but gave that statement after he became chief selector and favoured his nephew [Imam-ul-Haq].
Rumors also suggest that Inzamam played a role in ending international careers of Khurram Manzoor and Fawad Alam.
