New Delhi: With many disappointments & back to back defeats in recent games, Pakistan cricket is in turmoil and the embattled Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is brainstorming hard to push the team out of crisis. Pakistan’s performance in the red ball game has been more worrisome especially because the Men in Green have been losing out on in crucial games. The team suffered humiliating defeat at the hands of England in three-Test series played in December 2022. Post its ouster from the Asia Cup, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also faced the heat and its chairman Ramiz Raja was thrown out of office and was soon replaced by Najam Sethi. After Najam Sethi took over the PCB chairman, he handpicked Shahid Afridi as the interim chief selector. Recently, Najam Sethi, Shahid Afridi along with skipper Babar Azam held a closed door meeting on how to revamp the team & enhance its performance. After the meeting, Shahid Afridi revealed the management’s plan to amp up Pakistan’s game in coming times. The interim selection committee chaired by Shahid Afridi held a meeting with Pakistan captain Babar Azam and head coach Saqlain Mushtaq pic.twitter.com/AxTR5h91mw — Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) January 1, 2023 Afridi underlined the need for developing good pitches at home and also for exploring the ‘killer instinct’ of the team for winning matches at home & overseas. “Our main focus would be on developing good cricket pitch. If pitches are good, it will make the game more enjoyable & thrilling while audience will also have a memorable time,” he said. Afridi also urged the Men in Green to play game with positive mindset and also fire all cylinders in the game. “If Pakistan wants to dominate the game, it will have to play fearlessly and that is possible only when we have competitive pitches at home,” he said in video. Skipper Babar Azam has also found himself in the crosshairs of cricket fans as under his stewardship, Pakistan has lost 4 consecutive Test matches in a row on its home ground. The Rawalpindi pitch where Pakistan played test match against England also came under intense scrutiny as more than 500 runs were scored on the pitch on Day 1 alone. Former PCB chief Rameez Raja had also underscored the need & importance of good pitches at home to nurture & prepare a world class cricket team.
