Friends persuaded me to stay on: Latif

Rashid Latif, Pakistan captain one day, back in the ranks the next, insists he did not resign or quit international cricket under pressure from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

"There was no pressure on me from the Board. But I only decided to continue my international career as a player after coming under pressure from my friends, fans and well-wishers," Latif said.

"Since it became public on Wednesday that I had resigned and quit cricket, I was flooded with phone calls and e-mails and some people also came to my house demanding that I should not quit at this juncture."

Latif, who completed a five-match ban at the weekend over a disputed catch during the third Test against Bangladesh, took back his decision to quit the game late on Wednesday.

On Thursday, he was named in the 16-member squad to face South Africa from October 3 in the one-day series. He will play under Inzamam-ul-Haq, back in the ascendancy again.

On Thursday afternoon, more than 200 supporters held a demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club demanding Latif's reinstatement.

The demonstrators chanted slogans and held placards, supporting the former captain's stance against match-fixing.

The chief organiser of the protest, Mohammad Saleem, said a match-fixing and betting "mafia" was again active and wanted to see Latif out of the team.

Latif blew the whistle in 1995 on his former captain Salim Malik and other team mates in South Africa and Zimbabwe, accusing some of them of fixing matches.

JUDICIAL INQUIRY

His revelations eventually led to a judicial inquiry and Justice Malik Qayyum placed a life ban on Malik and fined five other players, including Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Saeed Anwar.

Latif also upset the PCB during the tour of England in July and August when he wrote directly to the International Cricket Council (ICC) warning them of the menace of match-fixing and asking them not to give up the fight against corruption in cricket.

The PCB reprimanded him for writing directly to the ICC and releasing a statement to the press. This eventually led to a fall-out with the establishment during the home series against Bangladesh.

But Latif insisted no-one had put pressure on him to resign on Wednesday as captain or quit the game.

"It was my own decision. I was under a lot of pressure and I was not happy with some of the things. So I decided it is best to step down. I knew Inzamam could manage things well against South Africa," he said.

Latif has had a controversial career since making his test debut in 1992 against England. He quit in 1995 while touring South Africa and Zimbabwe, protesting against match-fixing.

He was reinstated for the 1996 World Cup and later appointed captain in 1998.

However, after being dropped in late 1998 he made a comeback to the team in April 2001 in England and was named captain after the World Cup this year in the rebuilding process of the Pakistan team.

He said on Thursday: "It was not a hasty decision to step down as captain. I thought it out. But I had to reconsider my position as a player."