Pak cricket in a mess, thanks to chop-and-change policy

Azhar Mahmoodrsquos 11year international stint with Pakistan has left a bad taste in the star allrounderrsquos mouth Mahmood who made an impressive start to his international career but later fizzled out blamed the politics in the Pakistan Cricket Board PCB as the main reason for hampering careers Englandbased Mahmood is one of the international stars of the Wayamba United in the Sri Lanka Premier League The 37yearold has almost played in all the T20 leagues around the world Though a back niggle restricted his participation to only a couple of matches for Wayamba Mahmood declared himself fit for selection ahead of the semifinal clash against Uva Next yesterday Azhar Mahmood turns out foru00a0Kings XI Punjab in 2012 IPLu00a0 Mahmood believed the selectorsrsquo chopandchange policy has ruined Pakistan cricket ldquoPolitics do play a huge role in Pakistan cricket There is no consistency The captain is not sure whether he is going to be there for one or two years Nobody is sure about their place in the team When Wasimbhai Akram was captain we never had to check newspapers to find out whether we are in the team or not We were sure to be in the team if we performed well There was a guy to back you up ldquoBut now it is not like that Every Pakistan captain has struggled because his own place is not guaranteed When you are not sure about yourself you canrsquot fight for someone elserdquo said Mahmood He related his plight ldquoI have been dropped so many times in spite of performing well in the previous game So there is something wrong with the selection policy It is hard for the players Shoaib was treated badly ldquoWhen I played my last game for Pakistan I was not part of the team meeting Just five minutes before the match the captain tells me that I am playing What kind of preparation I would get All these things worried me a lotrdquo said Mahmood who last played a Test in 2001 and ODI in the 2007 World Cup Mahmood felt he lsquounderachievedrsquo for Pakistan ldquoBut looking at the bigger picture I am very happy Not many guys got more than 100 ODIs and 21 Test matches Guys like Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq were treated badly They could have played longer Now Abdur Razzaq is not finding a place in the team because the management doesnrsquot want him ldquoAfter Wasim Akram and InzamamulHaq there was no captain who would groom youngsters and back them to the hilt I played under nine captains and every captain has a different way of thinking We need skippers who can mentor youngsters ldquoNow they have dropped Umar Gul and Umar Akmal for the Australia series Aizaz Cheema was bowling well and he is not in the team as well Wahab Riaz too just one bad game and you are dropped Thatrsquos not fairrdquo said Mahmood a British citizen since 2008 However trouble in Pakistan cricket is not the reason why he moved to the UK ldquoI was doing well in county cricket I was also playing domestic cricket in Pakistan till last year But when I didnrsquot get an opportunity then why should I not play cricket in England If they donrsquot want me itrsquos ok It is their loss not mine I am playing my cricketrdquo said Mahmood who is planning to start an academy in the UK ldquoI was planning to set up one in Pakistan but that did not happenrdquo He also said that it will be a difficult decision to enter the Pakistani cricket set up ldquoIf at all I go there I would look to make a difference at the management levelrdquo he concludedu00a0