Mohammed Rizwan is reportedly unhappy at not being named as a candidate for the captaincy.©AFP
Pakistan’s shock early exit from the T20 World Cup was blamed on “grouping” within the team and poor performances from veterans at key moments, which could lead to “big changes” not just for the team but also for the PCB. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sources said Babar Azam’s biggest challenge on his return as captain was to keep the team united, but the groupings prevented him from doing so. Shaheen Afridi lost the captaincy, leaving Babar angry at not being supported when he needed it and Mohammed Rizwan unhappy at not being considered for the captaincy.
“There are three groups in the team, one led by Babar Azam, the second by Shaheen Afridi and the third by Mohammed Rizwan. This, coupled with the return of veteran players like Mohammed Aamir and Imad Wasim, made a crushing defeat in the World Cup inevitable,” a source close to the team told PTI.
“The return of Imad and Amir added to the confusion. Outside of franchise leagues, they had not played top-level domestic or overseas cricket for a long time, making it difficult for Babar to extract any worthwhile performances from them.”
“There were instances when players were not speaking to each other and some players tried to appease all the group leaders within the team,” the source added.
A senior PCB official said chairman Mohsin Naqvi was well aware of the team’s problems even before the World Cup and had been briefed by his right-hand man, national team selector and senior manager Wahab Riaz.
“Naqvi had held two private meetings with all the players and exhorted them to keep their issues aside and focus on winning the World Cup and later told them he would clear all the doubts in the team, but it seems that didn’t work.
“I’m not defending Babar, but what should a captain do when his main bowler can’t even defend 15 in the final over against a weak USA team, conceding a boundary and a six off a full toss?
“Or an all-rounder comes out of retirement to help win the World Cup but then misses out due to fitness issues.” Outside factors, such as player agents and former players who have launched social media campaigns, have not helped to ease simmering tensions within the squad.
While Naqvi has hinted at changes to be made in the national team, other sources revealed that changes are also expected to be made in the cricket board.
“The chairman clearly intends to make some cleanups within his team but has already begun the process of performance appraisal of senior and mid-level employees within the board,” the source claimed.
“You’re going to see big changes at the management level, both in the team and on the board,” he said.
“Naqvi himself is facing problems as he was not selected as chairman by the ruling government. He is also facing criticism over the WC fiasco and there are calls for his removal,” another PCB official said.
Multiple reliable sources also confirmed that Naqvi will not take any immediate decision on Babar Azam’s captaincy as Pakistan will next play their white-ball series in November.
“The only good thing for Naqvi is that Pakistan are due to play two domestic Test series against Bangladesh and England and with Shan Masood already the Test captain and Jason Gillispie the new head coach, he doesn’t have to worry about any immediate changes.” In Pakistan cricket, failure at the World Cup means heads fly and the committee tends to look for scapegoats, but this time cricket fans and even critics are putting pressure on the committee to take steps to arrest the team’s decline.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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