Change is never easy, especially in a country as passionate about cricket as Pakistan. It’s tough to drop seasoned players who have made significant contributions to the team’s success. However, to remain competitive on the world stage, the PCB needs to look ahead and assemble a future-focused team. Now, PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi will embark on “Mission Cleanup” to ensure players are chosen based more on form than reputation. Striking a balance between experience and youth will be essential.
PCB Mission Cleanup! Why is it necessary?
There is talk of a massive “Mission Cleanup” in the national cricket team as preparations are underway. In addition to meeting with fellow board officials and associates, chairman Mohsin Naqvi has spoken with some former cricketers about the discrepancies. It has been reported that some players are only in the squad due to their good relationship with the captain, despite their poor performances.
It is following the decision that Pakistan’s white-ball coach, PCB, will take this action after reviewing Gary Kristain’s report. As per reports, 5–6 players are set to be axed. Babar Azam’s captaincy is a point of discussion. Some argue that his leadership is not strong enough, and the team is unsettled. Other related issues, like his decision-making abilities, have also been cast in doubt.
Interesting to Read: Is Mohsin Naqvi accountable for Pakistan’s losses?
Players who could be dropped as a result of Mission Cleanup
Iftikhar Ahmed
Iftikhar Ahmad is one of the experienced batters who failed to live up to the expectations of Pakistan’s team and fans. He played as a finisher in the T20I team, but he failed to deliver in many matches. In the mega event, Iftikhar played two matches and scored a total of 23 runs. More importantly, he failed to finish the match against arch-rivals India, missing crucial opportunities to connect with full tosses, which ultimately led to Pakistan’s loss. His place is definitely in danger now that Pakistan is focusing on a new gun like Irfan Khan Niazi for this particular role.
Shadab Khan
Cricket pundits say that if you want to win white-ball matches, you need a wicket-taking spinner who can get you wickets in the middle overs. Unfortunately, Pakistan has been missing this for the past couple of years due to Shadab Khan’s poor form. However, it might not be entirely accurate to call it poor form because he consistently bowls at the wrong lengths and hasn’t learned to upskill, resulting in a lack of wickets. Despite this, the team management has continued to back Shadab due to his all-round abilities, but he has failed to live up to expectations. Abrar Ahmed is likely to replace him in white-ball cricket.
Azam Khan
The performance of Azam Khan in recent times in international cricket has been very disappointing, even though he was included in the T20 World Cup despite criticism. In the tournament, he only played one match against the USA, where he was dismissed for a golden duck. Azam played 14 innings, scoring a total of 88 runs at a low average of 8.8. Notably, 48 of those runs came against Ireland in a recent series. This performance highlights his struggles on the international stage. Despite Pakistan consistently giving him opportunities, he has not been able to perform well for the national team. So, Salman Ali will likely replace him in the middle order.
Saim Ayub
The left-hander Saim Ayub has shown considerable potential and performs impressively in domestic and league cricket. However, he has struggled to replicate this performance at the international level for Pakistan, putting his spot in jeopardy. Saim has played 21 innings in T20Is for Pakistan, scoring only 309 runs at a disappointing average of 14.71 and a below-par strike rate of 122.13. Sahibzada Farhan is likely to replace him on the team.
Usman Khan
Usman Khan left his UAE cricketing career solely to represent Pakistan at the highest level. He earned his maiden call-up after a brilliant performance in the PSL, where he received the top award in the last edition. In the T20I World Cup, he did not perform well, so now he is on the mission cleanup target list, and his spot in the Pakistani team is likely to be lost. Usman played nine innings for Pakistan, scoring only 117 runs with an average of 14.62. While this is a small sample size, his technique has been severely exposed at the international level.
A new look for Team Pakistan
- Sahibzada Farhan
- Mohammad Rizwan
- Babar Azam
- Fakhar Zaman
- Salman Ali Agha
- Irfan Khan Niazi
- Imad Wasim
- Naseem Shah
- Shaheen Shah Afridi
- Mohammad Amir
- Abrar Ahmad
- Haris Rauf
- Usama Mir
- Mohammad Haris
- Abbas Afridi
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