LAHORE, Dec 14: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Dr Nasim Ashraf on Friday said manager Talat Ali Malik and captain Shoaib Malik have presented to him a detailed account of the Indian tour which clearly reflected that the team lacked mental toughness and professionalism and that the players were not completely focused on the game during the series.

Addressing a press conference here to outline the basic points that led to Pakistan’s defeat against India after 27 years, the PCB chief said the board will be taking appropriate steps to improve the situation and added that he will soon prepare a report based on various aspects of the Indian tour which will be presented to the newly-formed governing board for analysis and future action.

“However, in order to help the players stay more focused on the game, the PCB for the time being has decided not to allow any player including the captain to write articles for newspapers or periodicals,” said Dr Ashraf.

“Though it was also the policy during the Indian tour that every article will be approved by the media manager, material to newspapers in some cases was conveyed through the telephone,” the chairman said, obviously referring to vice captain Younis Khan’s controversial column in the Hindustan Times after the second Test at Kolkata.

“We will ensure discipline in the team at all cost and no one will be spared in case of any misconduct,” emphasised the PCB chief.

Commenting on the key problem of mental toughness, the chairman said that the sudden batting collapse on the final day of the third Test in Bangalore proved that the players needed to work on their temperaments and mental attitude to withstand such crisis.“To improve the mental toughness is the job of coach Geoff Lawson who has a good thinking mind and the ability to achieve this task,” he said.

“Pakistan had all but lost the final Test at Bangalore but they were rescued by bad light in the end.”

Without mentioning speedster Shoaib Akhtar’s attitude on the ground, Dr Ashraf said that he would include every aspect of the tour in his report so that the governing board could take further action in the matter.

Over the matter of Shoaib’s signing an Indian film on the tour, he said that the players needed to be reminded to stay focused on the game because that was their prime duty. “Those who do not concentrate entirely on the game are likely to face the consequences,” he added.

Defending skipper Shoaib Malik, the chairman said that the PCB had given him an year’s extension (till Dec, 2008) after much debate in the last governing body meeting and the criticism over his captaincy was premature as he required more time to prove his mettle.

Speaking about Younis’ rather irresponsible attitude, particularly in matters of leadership, the chairman said it was the board which had offered him the vice-captaincy for the Indian tour although he was always reluctant to take up the job. “However, the PCB now has some good options and a new vice-captain will soon be named for the coming year.” Praising the prolific Misbah-ul-Haq, the chairman said that he had more than justified his inclusion in the team and had emerged as an ideal replacement for the great Inzamam-ul-Haq.

“Though it will take time for any player to replace a player like Inzamam, Misbah has proved himself to be a tremendous asset after playing those memorable innings,” said Dr Ashraf.

Lauding the potential shown by all-rounders Sohail Tanvir and Yasir Arafat, the PCB chairman said both the players quite justified their selections and were good future hopes for Pakistan cricket.

Dr Ashraf was candid about wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal’s performance on the tour and said that while he batted well in the series, his work behind the wicket required tidying up. “In order to improve his wicketkeeping, Kamran along with other upcoming wicketkeepers will shortly be attending a training camp conducted by the former captain Rashid Lateef in Karachi,” he disclosed.

He added that a similar training camp will also be set up for the openers and praised Salman Butt for his improved batting performance in the series.

Referring to the treatment of injured fast bowler Mohammad Asif, Dr Ashraf said the pacer had undergone a successful operation in Australia and would be needing around six weeks to recover from the nagging elbow injury. Umar Gul, the other injured fast bowler, is also on his way to recovery, he said.

Dr Ashraf concluded by saying that the new central contracts with the players would be implemented from Jan 1, 2008 and each player will get a category according to his performance in the last six months — both on and off the field. “The players will also have to play in first class domestic matches as per a term in the existing central contract,” he pointed out.