Under the captaincy of Babar Azam, Pakistan went through a very tough ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA), where they failed to make their journey into the super-eight stage, for the very first time in their history, after two successive opening defeats in the group stage.
In their very first game of the competition at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Pakistan faced a stunning defeat to the United States where they couldn’t hold their nerve in the ‘super over’ against a skillful left-arm pacer Saurabh Netravalkar.
At the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, the ‘Men in Green’ against their arch-rival couldn’t chase down a low total of 120 overs, and that too from being at a strong position, where they needed 48 runs at run-a-ball with eight-wickets in hand.
Pakistan looks to change its selection procedure
In the third game of the group stage, Pakistan needed a big win against Canada in New York. But they took too much time in a low run-chase to register their very first win of the competition. That win wasn’t enough as they hoped for one of India and the USA to lose both of their last games in the tournament.
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Once the USA and Ireland game was washed out at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, in Florida, Pakistan were out of the competition.
They came into their last game of the event against Ireland, without any pressure, and still couldn’t boss the game from the start. A very weak batting line-up had almost made the journey quite easy for them in the chase, before Babar stood at one end to carry them over the line, besides getting contributions from the lower order.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) now looks to change its old selection committee system after having the experiment where they picked the T20 World Cup 2024 squad in the presence of no chief selector in the team.
‘The board is likely to return to the old system of having a chief selector with two or three selectors and the captain and head coach not sitting in selection meetings with the selectors.’ A source revealed to the PTI.
The former left-arm pacer of the side, Wahab Riaz was part of the selection committee that selected the players for the event, is expected to retain his place, and could get selected as the new chief selector for the selection committee.
He was actually in the role from the start before PCB decided to destroy the old system of having three or four members in the committee.
Under the newly made selection system, the Pakistan captain and the head coach, Gary Kirsten would be the proper selectors, and a data analyst and the former cricketers of the country- Mohamad Yousuf, Wahab, Asad Shafiq, and Abdul Razzaq will be having the power of selecting players for a tournament or bilateral series.
Riaz was very chosen by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who has so much trust in the former pacer after making him the advisor of sports when he was caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab before the elections.
The PCB is also set to look at the central contracts given by the former chairman Zaka Ashraf to play whose tenure was three years. Pakistan is set to host Bangladesh in a two-match Test series at the end of the T20 World Cup 2024.