Pakistan's dismal T20 World Cup performance in the USA is expected to prompt significant changes within the country's cricket board.
According to sources, a plethora of Pakistan cricket team players agreed to show up for just as much as USD 2500 per person to attend a meet-and-greet event held in Dallas. The sources further added that ‘A Night with Stars,’ another occasion, was cancelled due to disparities in the payment given to the players, including captain Babar Azam. Following losses to tournament hosts the USA and arch-rivals India, all of these revelations will be addressed in the weeks following the league-stage exit.
Meanwhile, there have been four chairmen of the board; however, no upper-management people have been replaced or fired. The rumour that Babar Azam and left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi are in disputes over leadership and that the squad is a divided unit fuels the drama. The team’s priorities and focus during an important game have come under criticism in view of these results. These occurrences are now being closely examined by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as part of its investigation into Pakistan’s early World Cup elimination ahead of the Super Eight fixture.
“It is now becoming clear that if the players are today an indisciplined and careless lot, the blame for this falls on some of the senior management officials who have been patronising them in many ways including in the finalisation of the central contracts last year,” the source added.
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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) plans to implement major changes and set stronger player restrictions following Pakistan’s disappointing elimination from the T20 World Cup 2024. PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced a thorough investigation into the squad’s behaviour and management in the wake of its poor showing and off-field concerns.
A potential restriction on players bringing their families to ICC events and other major matches is one of the planned rule changes. It has reportedly infuriated the PCB chairman as players’ relatives, including parents and siblings, have been staying at the team hotel during the World Cup. The board also has ideas about enforcing a code of conduct for players to address concerns about discipline and concentration during major tournaments. These behaviours aim to foster in the team a greater sense of competence and prioritise results.
“The fact that so many players not only took their wives and children to the World Cup even had their parents, brothers etc staying in the team hotel has left the chairman unhappy. Some of these officials are not professionals but fans of the players and have given them lot of concessions which eventually led to the World Cup debacle,” the sources added further.
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