White-ball cricket was assigned to MOHAMMAD Rizwan. Head coach Gary Kirsten resigned the following day, a week before the Greenshirts’ series in Australia begins. For you, this is Pakistani cricket at its most fluid.
Kirsten’s abrupt departure emerged as a dangerous omen for Pakistan cricket, which has been struggling at international level in all formats for the past several years. This occurred just as Shan Masood’s teams were enjoying the spectacular 2-1 Test series victory at home against a well-oiled England.
When it comes to the white-ball game in particular, one gets the distinct impression that Pakistan has remained in flux for one reason or another. As a result, the nation has fallen behind in high-level competitions. This is due to the frequent reorganizations that have taken place at the Pakistan Cricket Board over the course of the past three years, as well as changes in the selection of teams, their managements, and numerous captaincy appointments.
Aaqib Javed and Saqlain Mushtaq, two former Test cricketers, are being discussed in the media as potential Kirsten replacements.
On Tuesday, when Dawn asked him if he would accept the PCB’s offer of a job, Saqlain gave a thoughtful response.
The former off-spinner stated, “I will think over it.” In addition, before making a decision in this regard, I will listen to the opinions of my close friends and family.
“I am quite happy with my current role [as the Panthers’ mentor] in the PCB,” he continued.
The ICC Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan early next year. Even though the Greenshirts are the reigning champions, they won the title in 2017, and their chances of competing in the prestigious eight-nation tournament right now don’t look good. This is because the country has been rocked by a number of internal developments, including Kirsten’s departure.
Kirsten, 56, a qualified and highly experienced professional coach who previously held successful coaching positions with India and South Africa and was appointed Pakistan head coach in April of this year for a period of two years, quietly left the PCB without providing any public reasons.
Even though PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has stated that the former South African Test opener resigned, it will take time to determine what precipitated the abrupt breakup. However, one can safely assume that the outcome would not have been pleasant on the surface.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced last Sunday that Kirsten would join the Pakistan white-ball squad in Melbourne on Monday, which also happened to be the day he resigned! was not consulted regarding the team selection for the tours to Zimbabwe and Australia, which were followed by the series in Australia.
Kirsten must have been offended when the PCB altered the selection committee once more earlier this month by excluding the coach and captain from the body.
Captaincy matters have also been bungled if the PCB has handled team management issues incorrectly.
After the disaster at the 2023 World Cup in India, Babar Azam resigned as captain of all formats, which was immediately followed by Shaheen Shah Afridi’s one-series appointment as T20 captain and his subsequent dismissal; The national team’s embarrassing crash at the T20 World Cup earlier this month, which led to Babar’s reinstatement as white-ball captain and Rizwan taking over as captain, both occurred in March. Pakistan cricket has only been weakened by this perplexing and unstable situation, which, if not addressed promptly, may experience further decline.
After almost a year, Pakistan will play the first ODI on November 4 in Melbourne. Their most recent ODI match was at the World Cup.
Given the demanding conditions and the resilience of the traditionally ruthless opponents who outwitted India on their soil in the crucial World Cup decider, how the boys, now under Rizwan, will handle the challenge on the upcoming tour of Australia remains a big question.
The central contracts for 2024–25 were finally awarded by the PCB on Sunday, after almost four months of delay. And how could they be without some unexpected events?
Fakhar Zaman was considered a match-winner in white-ball formats, but his social media quote controversy resulted in him not being selected for the Australia and Zimbabwe tours and also preventing him from signing a contract. Even though Mohsin claims that Fakhar’s omission was more about poor physical fitness than the quote issue, one hopes, despite the odds, that the issue will be handled wisely by the relevant authorities well before the Champions Trophy, solely for Pakistan’s benefit.
However, Shadab Khan’s contract as an all-rounder in category “C” is the most striking example. It is clear that the shaky all-rounder who has been out of form for a long time in international white-ball cricket did not deserve a contract. He dented the greenshirts on several crucial occasions.
Pakistan has only won the Champions Trophy so far in their history. They also have a golden opportunity to keep it as hosts. However, a master plan and near-perfect execution are necessary for reaching this goal.
Rashid Latif, a former captain of Pakistan, recently said that whatever happens in the PCB will have consequences.
He stated, “Nobody in the national cricket set-up is looking after the country.” In the long run, the decisions that are being made now will have a significant impact on Pakistani cricket.
It is hoped that the PCB’s top decision-makers and other stakeholders will be aware of this and take appropriate action before time runs out.
