‘My India trip could have affected Pak players’ focus’

NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad said on Sunday that he cancelled his trip to India because he didn’t want the national cricketers to lose their focus.

A fair amount of controversy that followed soon after Miandad was granted visa by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad led the batsman to put his foot down. “I can confirm that I was issued the visa, but I cancelled my trip because this controversy would have diverted the focus of our boys.

We have been playing so well and have already won the series, so I didn’t want the entire focus to be shifted to me,” Miandad was quotes as saying by India’s Mid Day newspaper.

According to the 55-year-old former skipper, getting an Indian visa was never an issue for him. “I was granted a visa for the World Cup semi-final in Mohali. This time too, I had the visa to visit Ajmer Sharif and that was one of the reasons why I was inclined to travel to India,” Miandad said.

“I have made up my mind to visit Ajmer Sharif (in Rajasthan) and I will do that shortly,” he said.

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