Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign ended tragically when they were unable to advance past the group stage.
The surprising early elimination of Pakistan from the Twenty20 World Cup is attributed to “groupings” within the team and the underwhelming performance of senior players in pivotal times. This is likely to result in “major changes” inside the PCB as well as the team. The largest task facing Babar Azam upon his return as captain, according to insiders with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), was trying to bring the squad together, but he was unable to do so due to the divisions. Mohammad Rizwan was not happy about not being considered for the captaincy, while Shaheen Afridi was annoyed at losing the captaincy and Babar not helping him when needed. “The team consists of three groups: Mohammad Rizwan leads the third group, Shaheen Shaheen Afridi leads the second, and Babar Azam leads the first. A source close to the team told PTI that “the recipe was ready for a World Cup disaster.” Add to this the return of seniors like Mohammad Aamir and Imad Wasim.
“Imad and Amir’s comeback contributed to the confusion, as Babar struggled to coax any noteworthy performances out of them, as they hadn’t played competitive local or international cricket in a long time outside of leagues based on franchises. “There were even instances where some players were not talking to each other and a few of them even tried to appease all the group leaders in the team,” said a source.
According to a senior PCB official, national selector and senior manager Wahab Riaz, Chairman Mohsin Naqvi’s right hand, had informed him of the team’s issues well in advance of the World Cup.
“It appears that things didn’t work out for Naqvi, who held two private meetings with all of the players and gave them pep talks, telling them to set aside their problems and concentrate on winning the World Cup. He also promised to erase all doubts from the team in the future.”I am not justifying Babar, but when your best bowler can’t even hold off 15 against a weak USA team in the last over and gives up a six and a boundary on full tosses, what is a captain meant to do?
“Or when an all-rounder brought out of retirement to help win the World Cup sits out with fitness issues.” The presence of other parties, such as player agents and certain former players running social media campaigns, hasn’t made the simmering conflicts within the club any less intense.
Naqvi has now alluded to altering the national squad, but an additional knowledgeable source has made it apparent that modifications will also be made to the cricket board.”The Chairman obviously is going to clean up things in the team but already he has started a process of performance related appraisals of senior and mid-level employees in the board,” according to a source.
“You will see major changes in the team and at management level in the board now,” he stated.
“Naqvi is having difficulties because the ruling administration did not select him to lead the board. Another PCB source stated, “He is also being called for his head and is receiving criticism for the WC fiasco.
Since Pakistan’s upcoming white ball series is scheduled for November, it has been confirmed by multiple credible sources that Naqvi will not be making a snap decision about Babar Azam’s captaincy. “The one bright spot for Naqvi is that he won’t have to worry about any quick changes because Pakistan has two test series scheduled at home against England and Bangladesh, with Shan Masood serving as the team’s captain and Jason Gillispie taking over as head coach.” In Pakistani cricket, a poor World Cup campaign usually results in head coaching and scapegoating by the board. However, this time, critics and supporters of the game are also pressuring the PCB to act to halt the team’s decline.
