Lahore Aug 4 (IANS) Pakistan women s cricket team captain Sana Mir has hit back at national coach Sabih Azhar who called her "self-centered and egotistical" after the side s poor performance at the ICC Women s World Cup.
The Sana Mir-lead side finished at the bottom of the points table at the World Cup in England and failed to register even a single win against the seven other participating nations.
Azhar called the captain "self-centered egotistical and being wrapped up in oneself" during the bitter aftermath of Pakistan s failed campaign.
Mir however took to social media to justify her stand.
"Journalists are free to ask junior players about our attitude towards them. No one can have a 100 per cent (clean) record but it s disheartening to see a coach maligning the senior players who have been giving confidence and guidance to youngsters for so long " the 31-year-old posted on Facebook on Thursday.
The inclusion of pacer Diana Baig who took seven wickets in five matches was also a sore issue between the duo.
"My coordination with the coach suffered when I insisted on playing Diana Baig who was in absolutely great form. That was our major disagreement. Diana is talented and was in great form in the WWC 2017 " Mir wrote.
"My fight was to play a youngster in the team who is ready for international cricket. I don t regret it. Moreover we suffered defeats in this World Cup as spinners with the new ball penetrated our top order consistently in each game specially left-arm spinners. We are also still short of players who can perform under pressure " she added.
"We should be talking about cricketing problems we need to address in a constructive and professional manner rather than personalising issues."
The right-handed batswoman who has played 102 One-day International (ODI) matches for Pakistan scoring 1 370 runs also asserted that she will discontinue playing for the side due to the kind of criticism aimed at her.
"I want to make it clear I don t intend to continue in the future with the current set-up of the Women s Wing in any capacity. I would still be sharing a detailed report with all of you to improve women s cricket once I get back by the end of August " Mir concluded.
--IANS
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