The Champions Trophy is coming to an end, hosted by Pakistan, and unfortunately, Pakistan could not win a single match. What a pity for the rain that gave us a point against Bangladesh, otherwise we would have lost this match too. The body language of the players throughout the Champions Trophy was tired.
The Pakistani team flopped in all three areas, batting, bowling, and fielding. Then, the golden hour was the press conference of interim coach Aqib Javed, in which he was seen defending the players. Obviously, he had to save his job.
During the press conference, he presented a strange logic that even with all the players combined, four hundred one-day matches cannot be played. Our team is still inexperienced and is going through stages of learning. This same logic was presented by captain Muhammad Rizwan, who said that we learn from defeats and are learning more.
If you ask him how long will it take you to learn, this nation does not give millions and crores of rupees for you to learn, but rather pays with their blood and sweat every month to win.
Raqim would have written this column a day or two ago, but I was waiting for the team announcement for the New Zealand tour so that the readers could be told everything about how the nation is being played with in the name of cricket.
The team has been announced. In the T20 squad, Mohammad Rizwan has been removed from the captaincy and Salman Ali Agha has been made the captain in his place, while the vice-captain has been made the player who has been kept out of the team for almost a year.
Yes, we are talking about the best all-rounder Shadab Khan, who has repeatedly won praise from millions of fans due to his excellent all-round performance. Apart from that, he is also an excellent fielder, but due to grouping, an attempt has been made to destroy the career of this young man, just like the way Mohammad Amir, Imad Wasim, Umar Akmal, Sharjeel Khan, Haider Ali, Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed,
Asim Kamal, Imran Nazir and who knows how many talented players were ignored and sent to a life of anonymity when the champions When the national team lost the trophy, there were speculations that a major surgery would be done in the team and the impression of grouping in the team would be completely eliminated.
This grouping does not exist anymore. Rakim has been watching cricket since the era of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Moin Khan and this grouping is from before that and due to this, there is a patronage culture and political appointments in the board.
The remaining players in the T20 squad are Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abdul Samad, Hassan Nawaz, Khushdil Shah, Muhammad Haris, Jehandad Khan, Muhammad Ali, Umair Bin Yousuf, Sufyan Muqim, Usman Khan,
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Muhammad Abbas Afridi and Muhammad Irfan Khan, while the ODI squad includes captain Muhammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Akif Javed, Abrar Ahmed, Abdullah Shafiq, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Imam-ul-Haq, Tayeb
Tahir, Mohammad Ali, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Irfan Khan, Wasim Junior and Sufyan Muqim are included. For both these formats, an attempt has been made to wash away the stain of defeat in the Champions Trophy by introducing a few new faces in the squad or by adding strong advocates, which is tantamount to throwing dust in the eyes of the nation.
Before talking about the squad, let’s take a look at the coaching staff. Despite the previous consecutive flop series, head coach Aqib Javed has been retained. Yes, an interim coach has been appointed with his name. Batting coach Mohammad Yousuf has been made, which is a good decision.
Fielding coach Masroor Ahmed, whose name is probably familiar to the new generation, what services did he have as a fielding coach, after seeing which he was made fielding coach? Bowling coach Azhar Mahmood has been made, which is an injustice to this team. This series of awards should stop. Aqib Javed has somehow clung to the board for the last two decades.
Now he should be given a rest, may God get rid of him. Bowling coach Azhar Mahmood should also be sent back to Konti Cricket for coaching. He is a burden on the board and the national exchequer. It is time to join hands with the fielding coach. Our fielding has deteriorated to the point where we do not need Masroor Sahib or anyone like him.
The PCB chairman should bring in three coaching staff from outside who are professionals and give them full powers that if any player does not follow the discipline, he should be removed from the team, no matter how great a player he is.
Now coming to the players, Babar Azam has been out of form for the past one and a half years but we are still feeding him and all his attention is on commercials. Similarly, Shaheen Shah Afridi, whose bad behavior has been complained about by all the coaches, is known for not listening to the coaching staff and doing whatever he wants.
Especially since he was removed from the captaincy, his behavior has changed a lot and the reason for this is his father-in-law Shahid Afridi who keeps criticizing Shaheen on the board from time to time. Haris Rauf’s performance is also nominal but anger is on the rise. Tayeb Tahir, who is being given continuous opportunities but seems to have the opportunity to perform, is a very strong recommendation.
Then he was selected for the New Zealand tour without doing anything. Fakhar Zaman also plays half an innings well and in the rest of the matches, he came in handy. Faheem Ashraf is also a party with a good amount of money. Despite their lack of performance, they remain in the team.
Now let’s come to our beloved captain Muhammad Rizwan, who is often said to be a man of the nature of a dervish. His performance is only passable. However, he is a master in grouping. Because of him, the future of Sarfaraz Ahmed, Muhammad Amir, Imad Dosim and many other good cricketers is at stake.
Except for Tayyab Tahir, it is known about the other four or five that talented young cricketers are not allowed to stay in the team for long by grouping them. Now it is time to forcibly retire them and get rid of them. If PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi wants the team to improve, otherwise the endless series of losses will continue.
We don’t need to go far, let’s take our neighbor India, who has already reached the final after winning the semi-final against Australia. They are against the culture of recommendation.
Despite giving excellent performances, the children of Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar and Sourav Ganguly are waiting, not knowing when our turn will come. Despite having so many big names behind them, they are waiting and every uncle and uncle has brought their own money towards us and the board has become a mess.
Just look at the newly formed Afghanistan cricket team. Their cricket is getting better and better day by day. Their players are setting records. Similarly, teams like New Zealand, South Africa, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Ireland and even the United States are improving day by day. The performance of their players is improving day by day.
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While our team is not getting out of the group stage, our players are all focused on playing commercials and leagues. The only thing that should bring in money is even if the team keeps losing.
During the previous tour of England, it was also heard that players were charging money even for taking selfies, meaning give them money and take a selfie. All these players will have to be removed from the team, otherwise, like hockey, cricket will also be ruined.
Prime Minister, a major surgery is really needed now and the incompetent PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi should be removed from the post of Chairman because this surgery is not his business. He has been doing surgery after surgery since he became the Chairman, but practically no action is seen on it and the performance of the national team is getting worse and worse day by day.
The World Cup is coming in 2027 and if our players continue to suffer from groupings like this, we will also be eliminated in the first round of this big event. Therefore, immediate action should be taken in this regard.
The New Zealand tour should be the last chance for the players as well as the Chairman PCB. If the team’s performance remains the same, then Mohsin Naqvi should also be apologized to by the players and to leave this post now and let a professional person come as the Chairman PCB.
Hopefully, Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, who is the Patron-in-Chief, will personally come to the field for major surgeries in the cricket team and make major changes in the team and the board to put the team on a winning track.
Written by: Ijaz Ali Saghar Islamabad
