Fantastic all-round debut for Razaullah! He made a massive difference to the team and showed to everyone what can be achieved with will power and a big heart. My best wishes are with him. I really hope that PCB and team management take good care of him.
Wasim Akram "Imran Khan was my mentor. He’s my friend, I miss him a lot. I haven’t spoken to him for three years. It’s so unfortunate, politically, what’s happening with him. The court of law is the court of law. But as far as his health is concerned, there can be no compromise on that" #ImranKhan
Adding my support here to GC and the other former international captains. I hope the court ordered medical assessment be allowed to run its course, and that family visits continue. I hope Imran Khan is treated with the dignity anyone deserves
Pakistan threatened Lord’s Test boycott after broadcaster Sky Sports telecast interview with Imran Khan’s two sons which was actually recorded at the Lord’s Long Room a day before the Test. PCB wanted SKY not to air the interview during Lunch break else they wouldn’t take the field post Lunch.
The 18-min interview done by Michael Atherton (one of the 21 captains to sign the letter to Pak PM) was shown and Pak did take the field too
#PakvsEng
Did I hear correctly that Aaqib Javed stated that Babar Azam was injured? Has anyone clarified the nature of this supposed injury, or explained what actually led to his omission from Pakistan’s ODI team?
It seems rather naïve for us to accept such claims without question.
And what of the decision to remove Saim Ayub from the ODI side, despite scoring two centuries in difficult conditions across his last 13 matches and maintaining a strike rate above 100? Was he also injured?
One cannot help but wonder whether the narrative presented by a small group of selectors is, in fact, testing the intelligence of the public including all of us?
Could anyone make sense of the press conference held by the National selection committee?
What clarification did they actually provide, aside from speaking in guarded terms and circling around the issues? Was there any convincing explanation? Did they offer any clear rationale?
Did they examine the repeated complaints about the coach and captain selecting strange playing eleven, or did they instead outline any concrete plans or processes for team selection going forward? Any process driven mechanisms or we’ll be stuck reinforcing failed methods?
Any convincing reply on supposed unfitness of top players? In which country of the world selectors remain oblivious of their stock’s fitness or availability?
@iRashidLatif68@ShahzadIqbalGEO@krick3r
Our selection committee members, at best, appeared to be attempting to defend the indefensible and, more often than not, seemed to exist in a state of self-denial.
Aaqib, in particular, had the audacity to boast about having secured ODI victories in Australia and South Africa, yet subsequently chose to drop three of the team’s principal performers, including the captain.
Quite astonishingly, despite this display of confidence, he further asserted that Pakistan had not performed particularly poorly in the ICC T20 World Cup. He justified this by pointing out that the match against New Zealand had been abandoned due to rain and that the only defeat suffered was against England, with the team ultimately failing to qualify for the knockout stages solely on the basis of net run rate.
Is this truly acceptable? Where is the introspection? Where is the post-tournament assessment of performance?
There appears to be an unwillingness to acknowledge the shortcomings that affected the team during the World Cup.
There is no evident vision for the future, nor any meaningful contemplation of reforming the stagnant systems, including the selection processes. The entire situation seems profoundly ironic.
Wasim, Waqar, Saeed Anwar did not retire. They were DROPPED from the team after 2003 WC along with Inzimam, Shoaib, Afridi.
Reason: they had failed Pakistan in multiple ICC events.
They all are regarded as LEGENDS till this day, bigger than any of the current lot cud ever be.