MANCHESTER   -   Indian tennis ace and wife of Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has arrived in Manchester ahead of the most-awaited Pakistan vs India match on Sunday.

The family members of other Pakistani cricketers have also reached England. The Pakistan Cricket Board had earlier barred the family members of cricketers from traveling with the team, but later relaxed the condition and allowed them to join the team after Wednesday’s match against Australia.

However, former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yusuf slammed the PCB for allowing families of players to stay with them ahead of India clash.

Clearly not impressed with the PCB’s decision, Yusuf, who played 90 Tests and 288 ODIs for Pakistan, said World Cup is a high-pressure tournament where players need to focus on cricket while criticising the board’s decision. He also recalled his playing days when the PCB rarely allowed families to accompany players on tours, let alone the World Cup.

“I was part of the 1999, 2003 and 2007 World Cups but the board never allowed players to have their families with them during the tournament. In 1999 we had such a big team with so many big names that if we had pressurized the board to give permission to have our wives and children stay with us in team hotel they would have done so,” Yusuf was quoted as saying by PTI. “But we didn’t because the World Cup is high-pressure event and players need to just be focussed on cricket and reaching the final. That is what happened in 99’ in England,” he added.

The former batsman also revealed that the PCB allowed the families of the players to travel with them only during Test series. He further reckoned that if required the families should have been allowed to stay in the team hotel during the start of the tournament and not at the business end. “If it was necessary to appease the players they could have been allowed to have their wives and children at the start of the tournament, not at the business end of the World Cup,” he said.