The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and coach Jason Gillespie have decided to retain Shan Masood as the national team’s Test captain for the upcoming international season.
However, a decision in relation to Babar`s leadership role in white-ball formats has been postponed for now. Within October, Pakistan is expected to host England for a three-match Test series and also play against Bangladesh, South Africa, and West Indies.
The PCB held a meeting on Wednesday in Lahore that was attended by senior board officials, national selectors, Gillespie himself as well as white ball format coach Gary Kirsten and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood. The purpose of the meeting was to evaluate Pakistan’s poor performance during the just concluded T20 World Cup in Americas.
According to an unnamed source, who spoke with Parami News: “The gathering discussed how best we can chart a way forward for the national team in red- and white-ball formats.”
It was said that Masood got everyone behind him over continuing as Test captain
“Shan got the support at the meeting to continue as Test captain for the upcoming series against Bangladesh, England, South Africa and the West Indies between August and January,” stated our source.
Recently there was a PCB meeting on team performance but no conclusion reached on Babar`s limited-overs leadership. However his captaincy and batting were intensely debated during this session.
According to our source; Babar struggled with bravery and leadership at critical moments when he needed them most. His ability to lead particularly during high stakes T20 world cup came into question.
In related developments former Pakistani fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz demanded that the entire selection committee be sacked. He argued that not only had they shown “collective incompetence” through ICC tournament but also all preceding events leading up it.
Nawaz said: “The selection committee has worked collectively and should be sacked collectively for their failure and incompetence.”
He further said: I have written letters to Zaka (Ashraf) and (Mohsin) Naqvi about Wahab’s suspect past and his incompetence as an administrator, I was ignored; when it is clear that he failed on all fronts.
