There was a conspiracy to remove Javed Miandad from the team: Basit Ali

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has claimed that a conspiracy was hatched by 1992 World Cup winning captain Imran Khan to remove the batting legend Javed Miandad from the national side in 1993.

While speaking to Times of India, the former cricketer said that he was often compared to Miandad as an excuse to drop the batting great from the side.

“There was a conspiracy to remove Javed Miandad from the team around 1993. That’s why I was being compared with him,” said Basit. “Honestly, I was not even one percent of what Miandad was. I used to bat at number four and when Miandad was removed, they shifted me to number six. At number four, I used to average 55 and when they shifted me to 6, my performance went down. They knew that at that position, I would hardly ever get to bat.”

"Wasim Akram was the captain at that time, but the man who was responsible for Miandad's ouster is the one who used to give the orders and that was Imran Khan,” he added.

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The 49-year-old also revealed that he pulled out of the 1996 World Cup to make space for Miandad in the squad.

“Miandad wasn’t included in the 1996 World Cup squad. His name wasn't there initially,” he said. “I was there in the 15-member squad. But he came with a request to the players and said he wanted to play the World Cup as he wanted to make the most World Cup appearances record. So, I pulled out.”

“I was in my prime at that time, but still I sacrificed my place because I respected Miandad,” he added.

Basit played 19 Tests and 50 One-day Internationals (ODIs) for Pakistan between 1993 and 1996.