Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi chaired a meeting with stakeholders, including Test and white-ball coaches Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten, discussing recommendations to improve the quality of cricket in the country.
Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi issued many proposals that would improve the level of cricket in Pakistan following a meeting with stakeholders, which included Test coach Jason Gillespie and senior men’s team white-ball coach Gary Kirsten. During a three-hour conference at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, many proposals for enhancing the sport’s condition, from the junior team to the senior cricket team, were taken into account.
PCB head Mohsin Naqvi extended a warning against grouping in the national squad and stressed that there will be no tolerance for discipline breaches in a statement issued by the national cricket authority. Allegations of a conflict and wrongdoing in the Men in Green camp following their disastrous performance at the T20 World Cup 2024 have given rise to strong recommendations. There were allegations that the team had splits and that Shaheen Afridi and Babar Azam were not on the exact same page during the T20 World Cup 2024.
“There will be no compromise on discipline. There will be a zero-tolerance policy against players who violate discipline. There should be unity and consensus within the team. Grouping players will not be tolerated. Management should take strict action on grouping. Disciplinary players will not have a place in the team. Do not accept my recommendation about any player for breach of discipline,” Naqvi said in a statement released by PCB.
In addition, the PCB announced that physical fitness would serve as a primary selection criterion and demanded that players undergo fitness tests once every three months. Apart from pushing players to play domestic cricket, the board also indicated that only fit players who follow domestic cricket laws will be given No-Objection Certificates to compete in overseas T20 leagues. Meanwhile, Pakistan declared that Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie had been set up for the selection committee. The move was taken a few days after Abdul Razzaq and Wahab Riaz were sacked from the selection committee.
“Only (those) players with a high fitness and performance criteria will receive NOCs, ensuring a high standard of representation in international leagues,” the official said.
The Green Army has had trouble living up to expectations, but drama off the pitch continues to haunt the team. As Pakistan struggled to muster any type of momentum in the T20 World Cup and fell to Rohit Sharma led-India and the hosts USA, Babar Azam failed to stand up to the faith granted to him by the new board. Babar Azam and his men went down in the group stage. The 29-year-old skipper resigned as captain following Pakistan’s disastrous performance in the ODI World Cup 2023 in host country India. The left-am pacer Shaheen Afridi was named their T20I skipper, but he was fired after just one series. Before the T20 World Cup, Babar Azam was brought back as captain, which sparked concerns and speculation regarding the team’s unity.
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