After a new selection committee was brought in by the PCB following Pakistan’s defeat to England in the first Test, they decided to drop key players namely Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah from the squad for the second and third Test against the Three Lions.
As a replacement to these experienced players, Pakistan have brought in youngsters and will be counting on them in the remaining 2 Tests. Though many believe that Babar, Shaheen and Naseem were dropped due to their poor performances, former England cricketer Naseer Hussain doesn’t feel these players to be blamed for not getting a place in the Pakistan team.
“The issue is not Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, or Naseem Shah. The issue is behind the scenes in the way Pakistan cricket runs,” Hussain said on Sky Cricket.
In a chat with another former England cricketer, Michael Atherton, Hussain highlighted how Pakistan have used 26 different selectors for the senior men’s national team. The selection committee isn’t the only body that has underwent massive changes in the last few years.
“In the paper, I saw there were 26 different selectors; in another, it said 27. Nobody can keep count. How many have England had? Two or three, maybe. But if you keep changing selectors, coaches, captains-constantly shuffling leadership-it’s impossible to plan ahead. No successful business or sports team works that way. When you operate with short-term thinking, you show up unprepared, and by the time you lose the first Test, you’re already scrambling for solutions,” Hussain said.
“Their cricket and some of it, you give them a bit of leeway because of the way the finances of the world game have gone with the big three, and they’re picking up the scraps like other nations are. So I really feel for Pakistan cricket and we mustn’t be too harsh on them, but at times, they shoot themselves in the foot,” Hussain added.
Legendary Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram also reacted to Hussain’s comments and remarked that he and Atherton are definitely onto something.
It will be interesting to see how Pakistan will fair against England in the second Test without the services of one of their best batters and 2 of their best bowlers.
