Pakistan's Mohsin Naqvi and Abdul Razzaq.
Pakistan's Mohsin Naqvi and Abdul Razzaq. Image Credit: X

In the latest development as per the recent reports, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, has come up with a major upgrade for the success of their T20I side in the future. They will now start to focus on improving their side for the shortest format of the game.

This move has come perhaps on the back of Pakistan’s humiliating group-stage exit from the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA). They failed to chase 120 runs in their second fixture against India, besides being bashed in the opening game against the home side.

The PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, has spoken about installing the ‘strike force’ to develop their 20-over side, where the Pakistan Cricket Board will be shortlisting 50 young and aggressive batters across the country on their merit of power hitting. The selection of these players will be made by the former all-rounder of the side, Abdul Razzaq.

Pakistan to install ‘strike force’ with the help of Abdul Razzaq

These 50 selected players will then go through modern training of smashing the long sixes and boundaries, where the main purpose of the strike force is to inject fresh energy and power into the 20-over squad of the Mohammad Rizwan-led side. Upon their practice for nearly a year, these players will be added to the national side.

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This could prove to be a massive boost for the unknown players of Pakistan who don’t get noticed. Apart from the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the strike force will be a massive platform for young talent to display their talent by getting an opportunity to represent the nation.

The Green Brigade has now won three back-to-back ODI series against Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa away from home. They are also the very first side to claim a whitewash in the 50-over format in the Rainbow Nation. But their T20I side hasn’t cracked the code yet. They lost the three-match 20-over series down under before struggling in Zimbabwe and facing another series defeat against the Proteas.

The young players who were selected for the series weren’t able to show much promise in their respective departments and couldn’t get going. This could be one of the reasons for the PCB to move towards the strike force route, which is a positive step for the development of the side.

Pakistan will play a tri-series before the Champions Trophy 2025 at home before they make a trip to New Zealand for the five-match T20I series in March. They can start planning for the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to take place in India and Sri Lanka.

The change of captaincy has also worked in favor of the green brigade, as Mohammad Rizwan has handled the responsibility of the side on his shoulder and will hope to carry it with the same momentum. Babar Azam has also started to be back in scoring runs.

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Saim Ayub, the left-handed top-order batter for Pakistan, has been one of the aggressive batters to smash the boundaries from the start. In 27 innings, the 22-year-old has drilled 498 runs at a strike rate of around 138, with the best score of 98. Tayyab Tahir was expected to be another youngster of the format, but his record of 123 runs in seven T20I innings at a strike rate of 118.27 hasn’t been able to satisfy the selectors.

The next T20I for the Pakistan side will be against New Zealand on March 16 at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.