Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, arguably, two of the greatest cricketers produced by Pakistan, are always in the news for their differences. Even on several previous occasions, Miandad has blamed the current Pakistani prime minister for his ouster from the national side and now, former Pakistani batsman Basit Ali has added more fuel to the news. The ex-cricketer talked about the differences in the national team when he was part of the side and said that the 1992 World Cup-winning captain cast the nets to removed Miandad from the team in 1993. Basit Ali Mercilessly Trolled by Indian Fans Over His Comment Alleging India Will Intentionally Lose Matches to Deny Pakistan a Semi-Final Spot in World Cup 2019.

Ali, the veteran of 19 Tests and 50 ODIs, also said that his aggressive batting style was being compared to that of Miandad’s in the dressing room. However, Ali believes that he was no way near the prowess of the legendary Pakistani batsman and was used as a ‘pawn’ in Miandad’s removal from the national team in 1993.

“There was a conspiracy to remove Javed Miandad from the team (around 1993). That’s why I was being compared with him. Honestly, I was not even one percent of what Miandad was. I used to bat at number 4 and when Miandad was removed, they shifted me to number 6. At number 4 , 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. They gave me slow poison,” Basit told Timesofindia.com in an exclusive interview from Pakistan.

On being asked about who asked demoted his to number six, Basit said that Wasim Akram was the captain at that time. However, it was Imran Khan only whose orders were being followed. Further in the conversation, the 49-year old revealed that Miandad wasn’t the part of the initial Pakistani squad for 1996 World Cup. So, he approached the team players to give him his spot and Basit was the one who pulled out.

“I am going to share something you might not be aware of. I have been quiet because of my country. Miandad wasn’t included in the 1996 World Cup squad. His name wasn't there initially. 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. He asked us - who will give me his spot? He wanted to make the most World Cup appearances record. So, I pulled out,” Basit added.

Miandad eventually bid adieu to the game after the conclusion of the 1996 World Cup. In his illustrious career, the right-handed batsman scored 8832 runs from 124 Test matches while in ODIs, he amassed 7381 runs from 233 games.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 16, 2020 10:08 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).