With the end of the T20 World Cup journey for Pakistan, where they were eliminated from the group stage of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, their cricket board has decided to review their campaign after a struggling tournament and could revise the criteria for central contracts.
Under the leadership of Babar Azam, the 2009 champions started their campaign against America at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, where they faced a heart-breaking defeat in the super-over, as they failed to hold their nerve in the contest, and didn’t look energetic with their performances in all the three departments of the game.
During their second game of the season at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, Pakistan failed to chase 120 runs under bright sunshine, when the pitch eased out a little bit, as they found themselves in a scenario requiring 48 balls at run-a-ball with eight wickets in hand.
Pakistan Cricket Board looks to make a series of drastic changes
Both the United States and India started their competition with back-to-back victories, which put more pressure on the team at that point. Once the former lost to the latter, it came down to a situation, where the Pakistan team needed to win to win their last two games against Canada and Ireland with dominating show.
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At the same ground in New York, they restricted the Canada team to a low total, which was expected to be chased down by the Pakistan side with quick succession but they again lacked a bit of energy in the middle and pushed the game to the penultimate over of the innings.
The wet weather of the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Lauderhill, Florida was a huge concern among the team as the 2009 champions couldn’t bear any points to the US team, once the Ireland game of the co-host was washed out, the ‘Men in Green’ was disqualified from the ‘super eight’ stage of the tournament.
Their last game was against Ireland, and after restricting the opponents to just 105 runs in 20 overs, it didn’t feel like they would take so many overs for the chase. At one point, the runners-up of the last season were going through a cakewalk in the chase, they lost wickets at a cluster. Finally, it was Babar Azam who held one end to take them over the line.
Following the struggle of the side, the Pakistan Cricket Board is aiming to make changes in the structure of the cricket management and system for better results in the future. The defeat to the USA and India sparked a series of criticism, not only on the players but also on the managing committee, from the former players, fans, and media.
The PCB selection committee which includes nine members- consisting of Abdul Razzaq, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Yousuf, Wahab Riaz, current captain Babar Azam, head coach Gary Kirsten, Bilal Afzal, Hasan Cheema, and secretary Usman Wahla, is aiming to bring series of drastic changes in the side.
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They could form a small selection committee, with few of the current selectors may not find jobs. The position of Babar Azam is also under threat, besides revising the criteria for the central contracts, where the fitness level will be the biggest factor, while the star players could get demoted to a lower category if they fail to perform.
The Pakistan board is also set to review the rule where they allow their players to take part with No Objection Certificates (NOC) only for two leagues in a year, to ensure better availability of the players for the national and domestic teams.
After the holidays of Eid, the meeting will be formed along with chairman Mohsin Naqvi and their colleagues to finalize the reason behind the struggle of Babar Azam and the team’s dismal World Cup campaign. Strict rules are also expected to take on the fitness level with a more discipline and performance-driven selection management of the team.
