After Pakistan’s poor show in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024, Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq have been expelled from the PCB selection committee’s qualified list. It is, however, the change reported by Geo News that breaks the news to the extent of cutting down the PCB staff later on Tuesday night, as informed by some anonymous sources.
While the captain and head coach are part of the selection committee, other members are Mohammad Yousuf, Asad Shafiq, and Bilal Asif. Insiders at PCB said that the board management had been losing confidence in both Riaz and Razzaq.
Recently, their opinions were not taken into account regarding employment decisions, a scenario that could justify a general disappointment in their decisions. As was observed earlier, their input was prominent, especially regarding the selection of the T20 World Cup squad; some of the players they preferred performed dismally.
PCB’s Reorganization Efforts
In the case of Pakistan, the PCB tried to ensure a form of equality in the selection process after revamping the men’s national selection committee at the start of the year, awarding equal authority to its members. This reorganization was to demystify biases and prejudices in appointing qualified members to the board of directors.
However, this fresh panel hardly provided a satisfying performance out of the selected team in all series preceding the T20 World Cup. This failure has therefore prompted a reconsideration of the composition and workings of the selection committee.
To this effect, the chief of PCB, Mohsin Naqvi, has stated that there are definite plans to undergo a ‘surgery’ to change the performance of the national team. This statement creates a new dawn for Pakistan cricket because it indicates preparedness to deliver dramatic changes. Regarding these changes, Naqvi has already started a consultation process with the relevant stakeholders to bring about their operationalization.
Strategic Meetings with Coaches
On Tuesday, Naqvi also presided over the two important meetings. The first meeting was conducted with the head of the Pakistan white ball team, Gary Kirsten, and the head of the red ball team, Jason Gillespie.
In this meeting, they debated critical issues concerning the performance of the team and drew a detailed plan to improve the team’s batting, bowling, and fielding strength. During this strategic planning session, it was comprehensively realized that there is no single solution if team performance has to be enhanced.
Broad Consultations with Players
Besides speaking with the coaches, Naqvi also identified and spoke with over two dozen former and current players to get their opinions on matters and addressed the direction that PCB and cricket in Pakistan are heading in.
This was a very long meeting that was initiated with a PowerPoint presentation by Naqvi on ‘Pathway to Pakistan Cricket’, which depicted how a cricketer gets selected and plays for Pakistan. They were used here to clarify the developmental pathway of the presentation to receive suggestions for possible enhancements.
The latest attempts by the PCB are a new direction that promises to improve the results of the Pakistani team and guarantee a good future for cricket in Pakistan. It will be seen that by inviting new ideas and dealing with the problems that caused the team to suffer recently, the PCB aims to develop a better team.
The ultimate goal of having a better plan for the next match including getting improvements in batting, bowling, and fielding shows how the team is keen on adopting the right marketing strategy to achieve its vision in the right manner in the future.
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