Islamabad: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is considering reinstating Wasim Akram as the national team's captain for the forthcoming World Cup in South Africa. According to a PCB official, the Board chairman Lt Gen Tauqir Zia and a strong lobby were in favour of bringing back the fast bowler as captain replacing Waqar Younis, who has been quite expensive recently with the ball. "As things stand, Wasim Akram has not been ruled out as a candidate to lead the team in the World Cup despite the fact that the Justice Qayyam match-fixing inquiry commission has fined him and advised a special sanction on him to the Board," the official was quoted as saying by the local daily 'The News'. He said the Board has sought the opinion of Justice Qayyam "on the implications of reinstating Wasim as captain and they have been told the problem is not a major one. "The reason for this is that Wasim and other players were fined by the commission not for their involvement in match-fixing but for not entirely co-operating with the commission." Emphasising that a lot would depend on the response of the senior players on the issue, he said the left-arm fast bowler would file his appeal against the commission sanctions as soon as he returns from South Africa. Pakistan is currently engaged in a series in South Africa involving five One-day Internationals and two Test matches. "Knowing how things work in Pakistan cricket, the captaincy remains open for debate. "A lot also depends on how the senior players in the team are willing to respond to the possibility of reinstating Wasim as captain," he said.
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Thatscricket Special: World Cup 2003

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