Mir hits out at religion in team

Pakistan’s World Cup media manager Pervez Mir has hit out at the “fixation on preaching” which he said was shown by the Pakistan team during the World Cup, and blamed it for their early exit.

“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,” Mir said during a press conference which followed the meeting of the committee set-up by the PCB to examine Pakistan’s poor performance. He added: “The boys were up against the most challenging task of proving their skills in the prestigious tournament, but I am sorry to say they had no drive for the game and were much more active in preaching and praying.”

The issue of religion within the Pakistan team has been a commonly recurring one ever since Nasim Ashraf, upon taking over the PCB Chairman’s seat last October, called for the team to keep faith private. This latest escapade is unlikely to be the last time the issue is mentioned.