Tanwir Afzal denies telling players to pull out of Hong Kong T20 World Cup qualifier squad: ‘they decided on their own’
- The former captain says he is angered by rumours he sparked a mutiny ahead of their tour to the Middle East
- The fast bowler says he would be happy to play for Hong Kong again
Former Hong Kong cricket captain Tanwir Afzal has broken his silence on accusations he sparked a mutiny within the senior team, saying he never encouraged any player to pull out of the squad.
Tanwir, 31, said he was happy to play for Hong Kong again but was angered by rumours he persuaded three experienced players – Babar Hayat, Ehsan Nawaz and Tanveer Ahmed – to withdraw from the squad days before they were set to leave for a T20 warm-up event in Oman and ahead of October’s ICC T20 World Cup qualifier in United Arab Emirates.
The new-ball bowler and middle-order batsman, who himself pulled out because he was only named as a reserve, said the trio made the decision on their own.
“I never asked anyone to pull out of the squad,” said Tanwir, who said he initially kept silent because he did not want to distract the team from their ultimately unsuccessful qualifying campaign in UAE.
“They all had their own reasons for not playing. The brothers [Ehsan and Tanveer] were unhappy at the environment created within the Hong Kong team.