The build-up to the ongoing Pakistan-New Zealand series has been far for ideal for the hosts. The sudden shakeup of the Pakistan Cricket Board post the debacle in the Test series against England, has taken the focus away from cricket.
England's aggressive style of play, dubbed "Bazball" after coach Brendon McCullum, resulted in Pakistan getting whitewashed at home for the first time in a series featuring three or more games. Pakistan nearly pulled off a draw in the first Test at Rawalpindi before succumbing to England's relentless pressure under dimming light on the last day to lose by 74 runs. Babar's men came close to levelling the series at Multan inside four days before falling to Mark Wood's pace as England recorded a thrilling 26-run win. The hosts then lost the final Test by 8 wickets.
Changes galore
On December 22, former cricketer Ramiz Raja was unceremoniously removed as the PCB chairman by the country's government, which appointed a 14-member committee, headed by former board chief Najam Sethi, to run the affairs of the game for the next four months.
Raja served as PCB chairman for 15 months after he was appointed by former premier Imran Khan to head the board in September 2021. Sethi was the chairman and CEO of the PCB between 2013-2018 and resigned soon after Imran and his party won the 2018 general elections.
As per the notification issued by Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Sethi heads the management committee that includes former Pakistan players Shahid Afridi, Haroon Rasheed, Shafqat Rana, and former women's team captain Sana Mir.
Afridi was named interim chief selector and the flamboyant former Pakistan captain immediately beefed up the 16-member squad for the Test series against the New Zealand by adding three more bowlers.
Afridi added offspinner Sajid Khan, who returns to the squad after missing out for the last two series against Sri Lanka and England, respectively. Spinner Abrar Ahmed has already made his mark while claiming 17 wickets in two Test matches against England, including figures of 11-234 on his debut on the slow-turning wicket in Multan. Fast bowler Hasan Ali has also been recalled while uncapped fast bowler Shahnawaz Dahani and Mir Hamza, who played his only Test against Australia four years ago, were also drafted into the expanded 19-member squad.
Rap on the knuckles
The new cricket management committee of the PCB has made it clear that centrally contracted players need to abide by their contractual clauses and no breach will be tolerated in this regard.
A well-informed source said that Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Shahnawaz Dahani, in particular, were reminded that it is not their job to tweet in favour of who should be Pakistan's captain.
Shaheen and Haris had tweeted openly, supporting Babar as captain and even warned that no one should think about changing him after the 0-3 series defeat against England this month.
But Shaheen has now deleted that tweet after the new board set-up, including chairman Najam Sethi, informed the players that their job was to focus on cricket and perform well as professionals for the country.
Mickey Arthur to return?
Sethi is also trying to convince South African Mickey Arthur to return as head coach of the national team, according to sources.
A well-informed source told PTI that Sethi had approached Arthur who is presently attached with the Derbyshire team in England.
Arthur was Pakistan head coach between 2016 and 2019 and saw the team win the Champions Trophy in 2017 with Sarfaraz Ahmed as captain.
The development came after the committee under Sethi decided to bring in a foreigner to manage the national side as current head coach Saqlain Mushtaq is stepping down from his role after the home series against New Zealand.
Sethi said a foreign coach was the best option for the Pakistan team.
(With PTI inputs)
