Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has defended the most important adjustments made to Pakistan’s Take a look at squad throughout the ongoing England sequence, saying the selections had been “important”.Pakistan made sweeping adjustments earlier than the third and remaining Take a look at towards England, scheduled to start on September 9.The transfer got here after Pakistan misplaced the primary two Exams closely, with England taking an unassailable 2-0 lead. Pakistan misplaced the primary Take a look at by an innings, whereas the second resulted in a 194-run defeat.
Naqvi responds to criticism
The adjustments have drawn sturdy criticism from former Pakistan cricketers, followers and analysts. Nevertheless, Naqvi mentioned he was not involved by the backlash and maintained that the selections throughout the England tour had been mandatory.He mentioned he was additionally analyzing points past the workforce’s poor performances however believed it was not the best time to debate issues unrelated to cricket. Whereas acknowledging Pakistan’s disappointing Take a look at outcomes, Naqvi pointed to enhancements within the workforce’s white-ball cricket throughout his tenure.“I’ve by no means been afraid of criticism, and I by no means will probably be. Those that say cricket has been destroyed since I got here – take a look at what the rankings had been earlier than,” he mentioned as quoted by Geo Information.
Main Adjustments to Take a look at Squad
Following the second loss, the PCB launched seven gamers from the squad: Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Agha, Ali Usman, Aamer Jamal, Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad.The board changed them with 5 uncapped gamers, together with Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal, who collectively have solely 10 matches of expertise. The brand new gamers embrace Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Saad Baig, Mohammad Imran Randhawa and Razaullah.The PCB additionally made adjustments to the teaching employees, bringing in Mike Hesson as head coach and Ashley Noffke as bowling coach. Each are already a part of Pakistan’s white-ball teaching set-up. Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul had been launched from their respective teaching roles.