Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali on Wednesday (April 15) claimed that the legendary Imran Khan was behind the ouster of batting great Javed Miandad from the national side.

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Basit, who played 19 Tests and 50 ODIs for Pakistan between 1993 and 1996, also alleged that his comparisons with Miandad were also a tactic to remove the latter from the team.

“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.

“I was really passionate about my game. I used to go for the big shots and get out. My batting hardly used to come."

When enquired who asked him to first bat at No. 4 and then demoted him to 6, Basit replied: "Wasim Akram was the captain at that time, but the man who was responsible for Miandad's ouster is the one who used to give the orders and that was Imran Khan.”

Miandad represented Pakistan in 124 Tests and 233 ODIs from 1975 to 1996. But the final few years of his career were far less than ideal.

According to Basit, after being axed from the ODI team in 1993, Miandad approached the players and requested them to let him play his sixth and final World Cup in 1996.

“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 said. “I was in my prime (in 1995 and 1996) at that time, but still I sacrificed my place because I respected Miandad.”