Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Monday approved the promotion of “quality domestic” cricket on all levels, calling for tournaments to be organised from the club level to the national level.
A stunning super-over humiliation for the Green Team at the hands of the United States was followed by a six-run loss to bitter rivals India in a game where they failed to chase down a paltry 120-run target.Subsequently, after rain distributed equal points in the match between Ireland and the USA, Pakistan were indirectly knocked out of a T20 World Cup tournament’s group stages for the first time in their history.
On June 11, after Pakistan’s loss against India, Naqvi came down heavily on the team management and said the Babar Azam-led side requires “major surgery”.Mohsin also felt that it was time to start looking at players who have been sitting outside the team.
While presiding over a meeting in Lahore’s National Cricket Academy today, Naqvi said, “Quality domestic cricket will be promoted at all levels.”According to a post on PCB Media’s X account, Naqvi said that athletes should be provided with professional grooming.
“Better coaches will improve the skills of the new talent by training them,” Naqvi said, adding that players will only be given further opportunities based on their performance, fitness and merit.Naqvi said that promoting quality cricket would help bridge the gap between Pakistan and international cricket.
“Investing in new talent will promote cricket at the grassroots level and yield positive results,” he said.During the meeting, while calling no for the improvement of coaches in the domestic circuit, Naqvi also decided to revise the domestic contracts.
He said that players who want to play for the national side would have to take part in the domestic circuit.“Players will be selected based on performances and tricks. There will be no compromise on merit, performance and fitness,” Naqvi said.
Earlier, Cricketer-turned-analyst Ahmed Shehzad has said that Pakistan head coach Gary Kirsten’s alleged remarks on disunity within the squad in the aftermath of the team’s humiliating exit from World Cup 2024 were “not shocking at all”.
According to a Geo Super report based on sources, Kirsten reprimanded the team for their poor performance at the tournament where Pakistan, the 2009 champions and runners-up in 2007 and 2022, made a swift exit after losing their first two matches from winnable positions.
A stunning super-over humiliation at the hands of the United States was followed by a six-run loss to bitter rivals India in a game where they failed to chase down a paltry 120-run target.Subsequently, after rain distributed equal points in the match between Ireland and the USA, Pakistan were indirectly knocked out of a T20 World Cup tournament’s group stages for the first time in their history.
Kirsten reportedly offered his blunt assessment of team unity in a meeting with the squad, and said that the players was separated left and right, adding that he had not seen such a situation despite having worked with several teams.Dawn.com has reached out to the Pakistan Cricket Board for a comment.
Commenting on Kirsten’s alleged remarks, Shehzad, an outspoken critic of the cricket board and the current team leadership, said on Monday: “If Gary Kirsten’s team talk is true, it’s not shocking at all. We have been saying this throughout the World Cup. It’s time for accountability, this team is plagued with grouping and crackdown is the only option.”
“The players involved must be punished and an example should be set for [the] next generation of cricketers. PCB [Pakistan Cricket Board] chairman must take notice,” he added.Commentary great HarshaBhogle also offered his take on the development, saying that “when a private conversation within a dressing room is leaked, with a few embellishments […] it exposes the insecurity within.”
