LAHORE - Top performers and players of the Lahore Regional Cricket Association (LRCA) have recorded their protest before LRCA president Khawaja Nadeem Ahmed in a meeting held here at LRCA headquarter on Thursday and appealed to him to forward their grievances to PCB chairman Shaharyar M Khan and Executive Committee chairman Najam Sethi.
Top domestic players of the LRCA including Usman Salahuddin, Aizaz Cheema, Agha Salman Ali, Tayyab Tahir, M Akhlaq, Farhan Khan, Bilawal Iqbal, Bilawal, Asif Raza and others have been ignored by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) during finalization of five provincial teams for upcoming Pakistan One-Day Pentengular Cup 2016 two days ago.
According to LRCA spokesman, Khawaja Nadeem has promised them that he would bring this matter in the notice to the PCB higher authorities. Briefing the media about LRCA teams and players performances, he said: “Lahore Blues clinched top position in all regional teams during Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2015-16, but its top performers have been ignored during selection process of the Pakistan Cup.
“Aizaz Cheema took 44 wickets in national event, Salman Ali Agha scored 555 runs with nine wickets in the same event. Bilawal Iqbal scored 341 runs with 22 wickets, Ahmed Bashir took 28 wickets, Farhan Khan declared best wicketkeeper of the province for the same event, Usman Salahuddin remained top batsman in national one-day tournament, Raza Ali Dar was declared the best all-rounder in national one-day event but these player are unfortunately disappeared from the final squads selected for Pakistan Cup,” the LRCA chief lamented.
Khawaja Nadeem said that four U-19 players of the LRCA had represented team Pakistan in ICC U-19 World Cup but only single player out of them had been selected in Punjab XI as the 16th player. “If the PCB is no mood to consider our best players in Pakistan Cup, we will withdraw the nomination of our manager appointed with Punjab cricket team as a protest which is our democratic right,” he concluded.