Shoaib Akhtar's career would have ended in 2000-01 if Dalmiya had not helped: former PCB chief
Karachi: A former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has revealed that had it not been for the help extended by the late ICC chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, fast bowler Shoiab Akhtar's career would have ended in 2000-01.
In 1999, the International Cricket Council had told the PCB that speed merchant Akhtar's bowling action was under scrutiny.
Former BCCI chief Damiya, one of India's biggest cricket administrators, served as the ICC's president from 1997 to 2000.
"Jagmohan, who had been president of the ICC and was an influential voice, supported us a lot in the Shoaib Akhtar bowling action case. He took a stand for us despite the ICC members insisting that Akhtar's bowling action was illegal," Lt General (retd) Tauqir Zia, who headed the PCB from 1999 to 2003, said.
"But due to the stance taken by Dalmiya and myself the ICC eventually conceded that Akhtar had a medical flaw in his bowling arm since birth which gave him hyper elbow extension and he was allowed to play on," he added.
Zia also said that some players might have under-performed in the 2003 World Cup because of factionalism within the team at that time.
He said on the GTV News Channel that he had asked then chief selector Wasim Bari to drop stalwarts like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Saeed Anwar from the team after the World Cup.
Pakistan failed to qualify for the super six stage of the World Cup in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
"After the World Cup I was very disappointed with the way the players had performed because it was the best possible side we could have picked for the World Cup," Zia said.
"I was hearing about these groupings and differences within the team even before the tournament and I suspected some of them under-performed because of their conflicts," he said.
Waqar captained Pakistan in that World Cup and throughout the event, there were reports about him not getting support from some players.
"I had wanted to make Wasim captain for the World Cup but many people in the board opposed this and even the ICC had its reservations because of the fixing inquiry reports," he said.
The former chairman said that after the World Cup he sat down with Bari.
"I told him now is the time to free Pakistan cricket of Wasim, Waqar, Saeed and some others. We then made Rashid Latif the captain and asked him to build a new team."
Zia pointed out that they had also dropped senior players such as Shoaib Akhtar and Inzamam-ul-Haq from the team so that a new outfit could be built.
"I thought Rashid did a good job and for a while it appeared we were rebuilding the team, but circumstances led to other things."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
