Pakistan May Boycott ICC Award Ceremony

Pakistan Give Threat To Boycott ICC Award Ceremony This Year:

Pakistan Cricket Board's chairman Zaka Ashraf decided to boycott the ICC awards ceremony of this year. Pakistan took this step after the omission of Saeed Ajmal from ICC awards list of the best bowlers of the world cricket.

However, Ashraf's comments, made during an interview to media, suggest the issue is still alive for Pakistan. "We are facing a lot of pressure from the public and from our former players to push for his inclusion," Ashraf said. "I think the ICC should check whether the independent jury is coming up with the best name and they should not give away the due right of any player in the world.

"If anyone else has more wickets than Ajmal, then we are ready to withdraw our concern and instead we will support their pick. But this isn't reflecting well of the ICC and they should rectify it.

PCB Protests Against Saeed Ajmal's omission from ICC Awards

Saeed Ajmal left off From ICC Awards Of The Year: 

Expressing its concern over ICC's decision to omit off-spinner Saeed Ajmal's name from the shortlist of nominees for the annual awards, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has written a letter to the ICC for reconsidering the list.

Ajmal, despite finishing as the top Test wicket-taker in the last 12 months, has not been included among the four nominees for the coveted Test Cricketer of the Year award.

"Yes, we have sent a letter to the ICC expressing our concern over Ajmal's name from the final list of nominees for the annual awards," PCB media manager, Nadeem Sarwar told PTI.

"We feel that there might have been an oversight by the ICC panel of experts and this issue needs to be reconsidered again," he said without divulging the exact details of the letter.

Former Test players, commentators and experts including former England captain Tony Greig, New Zealand's Danny Morrison and a number of ex-Pakistani cricketers have already expressed their shock over Ajmal's omission from the nominees list for the Test cricketer of the year award.

Ajmal, after being named in the ICC's Test team of the year, was left out from the shortlist of nominees for the ICC international cricketer, Test cricketer and ODI player of the year awards.

The 34-year-old finished with 72 wickets in Tests and was placed No.2 in the list of top wicket-takers for One-dayers in the period reviewed by the ICC panel of experts.

Sources in the PCB said that in the letter the Board has pointed out individual cases where players, who finished behind Ajmal, got into the final list.

"The PCB has pointed out individual cases where players who finished behind Ajmal got into the final list. They have asked the ICC to reconsider the list again," a source said.

In the past, protests from member boards have led to the ICC reconsidering the final list of nominees and changing them.

In 2010, England's spinner Graeme Swann was omitted from a shortlist but was included later after the England and Wales Cricket Board pleaded his case, while in 2009 the South Africans boycotted the ICC awards ceremony in Johannesburg over the omission of their players.

Ajmal, who is also doing well against the Australia in the ongoing ODI series in the UAE, has been in superb form in the last 12 months during which period, Pakistan played most of their matches on the slow pitches of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.