LAHORE, April 6: The Pakistan cricket team’s over-indulgence in religious activities rather than focus on the game resulted in the dismal show at the World Cup, P.J. Mir, the team’s media manager, said on Friday after recording a statement before the Performance Evaluation Committee (PEC) on the factors responsible for the team’s poor performance.

“I could not disclose this fact before, but today I inform the media that most of the members had no focus on cricket. Their fixation was on preaching, affecting the team’s preparations,” he said while talking to reporters.

“The boys were up against the most challenging task of proving their skills in the prestigious World Cup tournament, but I am sorry to say they had no drive for the game and were much more active in preaching and praying,” the media manager said.

When reminded that captain Inzamam-ul-Haq had dismissed such speculations in his press conference last week, P.J. Mir said it would not have been an issue with him or anybody had it been done in reasonable limits.

“I have video footage which will prove me right and I will hand over those tapes to the PCB,” he said. “It was beyond limits, this religious influence, and the players were even made to offer prayers during the flights.”

On Bob Woolmer’s death, the media manager ruled out murder, wondering if such an attempt was made, how all his belongings were intact. Mir’s bold statement is seen by critics as an attempt to check the growing religious extremism in the country’s cricket amid reports that the PCB has devised a plan to rid the team of religious extremists.