They have just punted their captain and coach. Their last chairman of selectors quit in the middle of the World Cup over a perceived conflict of interest. They haven’t had a CEO for 12 months, and have been run by two interim boards since last December. Welcome to the chaos that is Pakistan cricket.
“It’s business as usual,” former coach Geoff Lawson quipped.
The crisis that has engulfed the Pakistan side does not bode well for what already shapes as a one-sided Test series in Australia. And this is the supposed A-side on this summer’s soundtrack.
Babar Azam leaves Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore after meeting with the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board last month.Credit: AP
If stability is one of the keys to success, the visitors have been set up for failure by the various administrations that have run the Pakistan Cricket Board over the past 12 months.
Not for the first time, the political uncertainty in Pakistan has filtered into their cricket, leaving the national men’s team in disarray before one of the most difficult assignments in the international game.
Their best player, Babar Azam, is gone as captain. The PCB sacked him as their white-ball leader but wanted him to remain as their Test skipper. Babar’s preference was to lead in all formats and chose none instead of some.
His successor is veteran batter Shan Masood, who averages just 28.5 from 30 Tests and has only one score above 50 in his past 17 innings. Australian teams have dismantled better-credentialed skippers, as South Africa’s Dean Elgar will attest.
Mickey Arthur, Australia’s coach from 2011 to 2013, is no longer the director of cricket, while coach Grant Bradburn was also axed. Former opener Mohammad Hafeez assumes both roles in Australia despite no previous coaching experience. He has spent the past fortnight scrambling to assemble a coaching staff for the tour.
‘It’s business as usual’: Making sense of Pakistan cricket’s latest crisis
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01.12.2023
They have just punted their captain and coach. Their last chairman of selectors quit in the middle of the World Cup over a perceived conflict of interest. They haven’t had a CEO for 12 months, and have been run by two interim boards since last December. Welcome to the chaos that is Pakistan cricket.
“It’s business as usual,” former coach Geoff Lawson quipped.
The crisis that has engulfed the Pakistan side does not bode well for what already shapes as a........
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