Karachi. The Pakistan cricket team recently faced defeat at home against Bangladesh in the Test series. There is an uproar after the clean sweep in the series. Along with Babar Azam, who is in poor form, there were reports of removing Test captain Shan Masood from the captaincy. Pakistan's limited overs and Test team head coaches Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie have given their opinion about the captain. The country's cricket board has been advised not to change the captain in a hurry after the recent poor performance in all formats. It is clear that both the coaches are not happy with the attitude of the board and want to stop changing the captain frequently.
Babar Azam was removed from the limited-overs captaincy after India were knocked out of the round robin stage of the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. Shaheen Shah Afridi, who replaced him, was removed after a poor series. Similarly, in Tests, Shan Masood was made the captain after Babar's resignation, but there are calls for his immediate removal after losing the Test series 0-2 to Bangladesh.
A PCB source said that the recent speculation in the media about sacking Masood and Babar is mere speculation. There has been no discussion on changing the captain as PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has left this decision to both the coach and the selectors. Kirsten and Gillespie are very clear that both Shan and Babar should be given proper time before assessing their leadership ability.
He said both coaches want continuity in captaincy and they have clearly conveyed this to the board. He also made it clear that captaincy or team selection will not be discussed when the board organises a one-day workshop called 'Cricket Connection' in Lahore later this month.
He said, “This workshop is being organised to listen to the views of all the stakeholders, mainly all the coaches, selectors and contracted players of the domestic team. The Board can work on bridging the gap between domestic cricket and international cricket standards.”
The source also said that Kirsten will also be present at the workshop while Gillespie will join it online. The PCB chief had said that patience and consistency in policies are needed to get long-term results from the team in all formats. He said, “The workshop is basically being organized because both the coaches want the domestic team coaches to understand well what is required to prepare players for the national team.
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first published : September 9, 2024, 6:02 PM IST
