Pakistan cricket follows controversy or is it the other way round? Either way, the men in green have once again grabbed the world's attention with Grant Luden threatening to step down from his role of national team's fielding coach.
The South African born Luden primarily threatened to resign after three senior players of the Pakistani team -- Shahid Afridi, Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal -- misbehaved with the fielding coach.
Things could not have gone much worse after Pakistan's defeat against India, but this is Pakistani cricket for you. Expect the unexpected.
"Luden sent a message to the PCB chairman threatening to resign as he could not tolerate such insulting behaviour from the players," PTI quoted a source.
These three players, along with other members, were proving to be an obstacle in his work during the training sessions and this was immediately reported to PCB chairman Shahryar Khan.
The fielding coach also stated that if the players do not change their attitude he would resign from the post.
"Luden has complained that the three players allegedly used abusive language on Tuesday."
Such kind of behaviour is not tolerable especially from the senior members of the team, as they are role models for the youngsters. What would they learn from such incidents?
How would one expect coaches to hear abuses from his players, when he is trying to improve upon their skills? This could have been the final straw for Luden as well.
But, the PCB did not want such things to hog the limelight and distract the players from performing in the World Cup. Hence the PCB Chairman had a talk with manager, Naved Cheema, head coach Waqar Younis and Luden, where the issue was discussed.
"He has assured Luden his concerns will be looked into and the players will not be allowed to misbehave in future," the source added.
Irrespective of what may have actually transpired between the Pakistani senior cricketers and the fielding coach during Tuesday's training session, one thing is for sure that the Pakistan team needs the services of Luden who is not only a fielding coach but also a trainer, so his presence in the team is of great importance.
Pakistan did not put up a good performance in the field against India, which could have been their main reason for the defeat as well.
When Pakistan Play West Indies next, Misbah's men should be on top of their game to keep their hopes of reaching the knock out stages alive. Defeat against West Indies will only worsen their situation, along with lowering their confidence.
