Miandad, a former captain and three-times coach of the national side, said leading players had grown disaffected with Imran's leadership style throughout the tournament.

"The revolt took place before the semi-final against New Zealand. But to me the country was more important and I convinced the players to carry on playing under Imran," Miandad said on a local television chat show late on Wednesday.

"Imran retired after winning the World Cup and before the England tour in 1992 because he had come to know about the revolt."

Miandad, when contacted by Reuters on Thursday, confirmed his statement but would not elaborate.

"I have never spoken about this incident but now many people know about it so I disclosed the truth," he said.