KARACHI, Oct 31: Pakistan chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed on Wednesday lashed out at former Test captain Javed Miandad for singling out the national selection committee for defeats in the recent home series against South Africa.

In a hard-hitting interview, Salahuddin, who is popularly known in the cricketing circles as Sallu, said that Miandad’s irresponsible comments on a private TV channel the other night were totally uncalled for and clearly in bad taste considering his stature as a cricketer of high standing.

“Why should the selectors be blamed for the defeats against South Africa?” asked a riled chairman of selectors. “Miandad’s constant tirade against the players, the selectors and the board officials shows a negative mindset.”

Taking exception to Miandad’s outburst in which the batting legend had claimed that inconsistent selection policies led to defeats in both the Test and one-day series against the Proteas, Salahuddin termed the allegations as baseless and far from the reality.

“The selectors invariably picked the best available lot of players. Why this hue and cry if Pakistan lost to the No 2 side in the world?” questioned Salahuddin. “Where was he (Miandad) when Pakistan finished runners-up in the World Twenty20 Championship in South Africa or when our team won the one-day series against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi soon after we took over as selectors?”

Questioning the wisdom of such comments that selectors should have blooded youngsters like Khalid Latif (who was in the ODI squad) or Khurram Manzoor for the series decider in Lahore, Salahuddin said it would have been preposterous to even think of trying something like that in a ‘final’ match.

“Had we played either one of them and if the move had backfired, people like Miandad would have been screaming that the selectors had done injustice to the younger talent by exposing them in a crunch game,” he remarked.

The chief selector defended his committee, which also includes Saleem Jaffer and Shafqat Rana as members, while saying that the selections were made in consensus with the Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik and the national team’s Australian coach Geoff Lawson.

“We always consulted them before picking the teams. And if some of the players failed to perform, then it was no fault of ours. How are we to blame if the team lost because of players’ reckless approach?” asked the former Test cricketer while referring to the horrendous capitulation which saw Pakistan losing six wickets for 20 runs in 36 balls in the final ODI last Monday.

The chairman of the selectors, not mincing any words, said Miandad’s barrage had put his integrity under spotlight. “Where was his patriotism when he was the captain and later the coach of Pakistan? Even a gentleman like Iqbal Qasim stood against him when 10 players revolted against his captaincy on the eve of Sri Lanka’s maiden Test series here in 1981-82,” he asked.

“On several occasions in the past, the top officials of the cricket board have generally been unhappy with his behaviour. Thrice he (Miandad) was the national coach and each time his tenure ended in acrimony. That clearly suggests that his man-management is extremely poor,” added the experienced official.

Citing instances of Miandad’s high-handed attitude, Salahuddin said: “Miandad always indulged in nepotism. During his time, he used to muster support for his younger brothers and now he is doing the same for his nephew (Faisal Iqbal).”

“Once he refused to lead a cricket board President’s XI in a tour game at Rawalpindi just because his brother Anwar was not selected in the side. In fact, Abdul Qadir had to lead the team after Miandad pulled out at the last moment. Where was his ‘patriotism’ then?” said Salahuddin.

“On another instance, when I was the KCCA chief selector, he used outside pressure to press for the inclusion of his youngest brother Sohail [who had not played a single match that season] in the Karachi team for the under-19 final. But we never succumbed to his tactics.

“And now he is doing the same just because his nephew had to make way for Mohammad Yousuf for the Lahore Test against South Africa. The critics and the fans will confirm that Miandad hadn’t uttered a single word till the time Faisal was in the side,” reminded Salahuddin.