Pakistan women's cricket team captain Sana Mir hits out at coach

Lahore, Aug 4 - 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.

CPL 2017 Full Schedule

"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.

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IANS