A two-person independent committee has been agreed upon by the Pakistan Cricket Board to serve as a liaison between the players, management, and the board for the national team.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, following a day-long cricket link conference on Monday attended by the board’s top leadership and international coaches Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie, informed the players that the committee to look into their issues will be established shortly.
The players expressed their worries, according to sources, about communication issues with senior PCB officials, particularly in the departments of local and international cricket.
At the meeting, captains Shan Masood and Babar Azam, supported by Muhammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, and a few other players, stated that they desired to build a “bridge” with the board in order to avoid miscommunication and enable them to bring up issues and complaints with the board as needed.
The source further stated that in order to enhance communication between players, management, and various PCB departments, it was determined that the two-member committee would operate autonomously.
Pakistan is one of the few Test-playing nations where there is still no players’ association recognised by the board.
The players also mentioned that they needed to feel secure when playing for Pakistan and that the board and selectors needed to be clear on a number of matters, including captaincy.
According to the source, Mohsin Naqvi gave the players the assurance that their performances should take precedence over any impending changes to the national team captaincy.
The insider further stated that Naqvi counseled the players to concentrate on creating a more harmonious and cohesive atmosphere in the locker room.
“He (Naqvi) basically instructed the players that whoever the board had as captains the players must back them and play as one regardless of the format,” the source added.
The two international coaches and PCB Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseer subsequently characterized the cricket connect session as transparent and fruitful.
“It provided us a forum to identifying issues and resolving them,” Naseer stated.
The goal of the event was to persuade everyone to commit to improving their performance and teamwork by being upfront and honest about challenges they may be facing and identifying them. We all agreed that we must find a solution to this going future and specify how.”
