The PCB revealed a 16-man squad for the rest of the series a few days before the second Test match between Pakistan and England. Notably, the team sheet did not feature right-arm quick Naseem Shah, left-arm bowler Shaheen Afridi, or star batsman Babar Azam. Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan, the former captain and backup wicketkeeper, did not perform as well as the players mentioned above.
In an effort to provide the players with a respite from the drama surrounding them for their on-field performances, the PCB decided to bench the players while also considering the team’s overall welfare. The seven additions that were made to the squad before the first Test in Multan were also decided by the PCB.
“The PCB believes that each of Haseebullah, Mehran, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Ali, Noman, Sajid, and Zahid have the ability to rise to the occasion and serve the team in the remaining two Tests,” a PCB spokesperson told Geo News.
The spokesman also emphasized that one of the PCB’s main goals moving forward was to increase the number of young players joining the team.
PCB will take a new route following the selection committee’s overhaul.
After a crushing loss to England in the opening Test of the series, several changes were anticipated to be made to the PCB’s internal system. Hours after the defeat, the men’s selection committee was, as it turned out, immediately altered.
Former Pakistani cricket players Aaqib Javed and Azhar Ali, as well as domestic cricketer-turned-umpire Aleem Dar, were nominated by the selection committee to serve as voting members. Furthermore, analyst Hassan Cheema, who was already on the selection committee, was given the ability to vote, and the coaches will no longer have a role in which squads are chosen.
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It is expected that they would have established some new short- and long-term goals with the addition of players who have been an integral part of Pakistani cricket in many ways, including encouraging future players to join the team so they may receive important exposure.
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