LONDON (March 14 2010): Former Test all rounder Mudassar Nazar has criticised the culture of internal squabbles in the Pakistan cricket and blamed Younus Khan's colleagues for forcing his resignation and reluctance to continue as captain. Speaking to the UK-based website PakPassion.net he asked how can a player who took the country in the T20 World Cup glory be allowed to just walk away from captaincy adding that this is just yet another episode of the infighting that has haunted Pakistan cricket since long.

"The only time this was eradicated was when Imran Khan was captain and even though a strong personality like Javed Miandad was in the dressing room, both players fought tooth and nail to ensure that it was the country that came first, ahead of any personal issues. Any off the field differences were put aside and players under Imran concentrated on issues on the field, which seems to be rather different to the current setup."

Mudassar,a veteran of 76 Tests, who is currently working for the ICC as one of the coaches at their Global Cricket Academy in Dubai felt that whilst Younus Khan cited allegations of match fixing were the reason behind his resignation as skipper, the real reasons were more "close to home" and involved team mates plotting against him.

"Never mind the politicians suggestions of match fixing, it was his team mates that made Younus' mind up to resign as captain. The damage to Younus was done in the dressing room and not in the corridors of power. This whole culture of infighting has to stop," Mudassar urged.

Responding to a question on stopping the infighting, he suggested relaunching of regional academies on sound lines. "There is so much good work being done with young cricketers of all ages, preparing them for domestic cricket and ultimately preparing them for international cricket.

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2010