Babar Azam Under Fire: Former PCB Selector Calls Him ‘Stubborn and Resistant to Change’
Babar Azam Under Fire: Former PCB Selector Calls Him ‘Stubborn and Resistant to Change’
Former PCB Chief Selector Criticizes Babar Azam: ‘He Was Inflexible…Resistant to Change’
03/08/2024 (JKNN) Amid ongoing scrutiny of the Pakistan national team’s recent performances, ex-chief selector Mohammad Wasim has spoken out about his challenging relationship with former Test captain Babar Azam and the troubling culture within the team’s dressing room.Pakistan’s poor performance, particularly with Bangladesh on the cusp of a historic Test series win in Pakistan, has drawn significant attention. This comes in the wake of Pakistan’s disappointing exits from the recent ICC tournaments, namely the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup.Babar Azam, who has been struggling with his form, has now been labeled a ‘stubborn’ captain by Mohammad Wasim, who previously served as the chief selector for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).In an interview with Cricket Pakistan, Wasim revealed, “It was a struggle to convince him about the benefits of making changes. He was inflexible, and I had to push beyond my usual limits to get him to agree on certain decisions. He simply wasn’t willing to embrace change.”Wasim also spoke about the negative atmosphere in the dressing room, exacerbated by certain players. Though he chose not to name them, he mentioned that four coaches had described a particular group of players as detrimental to the team. “These players are a cancer to the team. As long as they remain in the squad, Pakistan will struggle to win. I attempted to exclude them, but the team management brought them back,” he stated.He further commented on Imad’s long-standing knee injury, which has been kept under wraps. Despite ongoing concerns about Azam Khan’s fitness, Wasim pointed out that Imad faced similar issues and was dropped from the team to focus on improving his fitness. “I also made the decision to exclude him during my tenure for the same reason,” Wasim added.As the fourth day of the second Test in Rawalpindi came to a close, Bangladesh needed just 143 runs with all 10 wickets remaining to complete a clean sweep of the two-match series. If successful, it would mark Pakistan’s 10th consecutive Test without a win on home soil.Following the team’s defeat in the first Test, PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi expressed concern over the lack of a “talent pool” available for the national team, attributing it to their poor performance in Test cricket.“The issue is that the selection committee lacks a sufficient pool of high-quality replacement players. It’s disappointing to lose to Bangladesh, but the selection committee had provided 17 players to the team,” Naqvi remarked.
(JKNEWS NATION)
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