PCB (Personal Cricket Board)?

PCB (Personal Cricket Board)?

Comments and proposals for selection of our T20I squad chosen for the series vs the cricket team of Bangladesh starting from 24 January 2020 to be played in Lahore.

Rankings:
Pakistan # 1
Bangladesh # 9

Pak 15 members T20 Squad:

1. Babar Azam (Captain) Too docile and shy personality who should in the first instance have been given the experience to lead against the Sri Lankan team to gain some mastery over the leadership job to perform better in Australia and now in Pakistan. Here, the head of the think tank (cricket committee) Mr. Wasim Khan failed pathetically to prove his mettle as visionary leader of an huge organisation of the country. CEO is not there to just hire and fire employees, but to set the objectives/goals of an organisation and “determine” how to meet it.

2. Ahsan (Ehsan) Ali (DoB 10 December 1993 26+) A very promising batsman who along with Abid Ali has the potential to serve Pakistani team in a sterling manner. I have been recommending his name (on the expert advice of a former renowned Captain of Pakistan) even for his selection for the ODI2019 World Cup team. Well done PCB selectors for a good investment for the future.

3. Amad Butt (DoB 10 May 1995 24+) Good Selection of a promising player to watch ahead.

4. Haris Rauf (DoB 7 November 1993 26+) He was an automatic selection. However, our game suffered a lot for not selecting him for the ODI World Cup 2019 and T20 series vs SL and T20 and Test Series vs Australia.

5. Iftikhar Doesn’t possess the calibre of a player who should be in the world # 1 ranked team. Following expert’s comments on score card of 3rd T20 match vs Australia of 8 November 2019 by the ESPNCRICINFO says it all:
“ He’d been struggling with the short ball for much of the innings.” As such an absolutely wrong selection keeping in view of the next T20I World Cup to be played in coming October in Australia. Here, besides the poor/biased choice of selectors the myopic vision of our gutless so called T20I captain, is also throughly exposed. Captain must remember that he was the real boss and that he was not given the captaincy of the national team as a charity and to look, act and talk like a under study of the Chief Selector. He will have to stand up and be counted. He must learn a lesson from his predecessor that (yes men) captains always fall from the grace, sooner than later. Same goes for the timid captain of our Test team. Captains must, repeat must, assert their opinions, in matters, which are under their domain.

6. Imad Wasim Looks out of form and not fully fit. He may perform (in home series) like a lion, against the 9th ranked team, but absolutely looks like a spent force against better ranked teams. He may be out of the contention for the World Cup squad.

7. Khushhdil Shah. His selection in home series against the 9th ranked team will not be a good and proper occasion to test his abilities. Moreover, why he was taken to Australia without testing him against the Sri Lankan team. This fact definitely smells rat in his selection again for the series against Bangladeshi team. Many talented players deserve selection ahead of KDS. As they say in cricket that (it was a nothing shot) this was also a nothing selection.

8. Muhammad Hafeez (DoB 17/10/80. Now he is in his 40th year) If his experience was to be utilised why he was protected against the Australian attack? Why select him against the 9th ranked team to falsely prove his batting prowess. Why not give chance against BD team to much younger players like Abid Ali, Khurram Manzoor, Zeeshan Ashraf and so many others? On the same analogy why not select Misbah ul Haq again against the weakest of the weak team. This selection is murder of merit and height of favouritism. However, the icing on the cake was that captain speaking like a stooge said that he was thankful to the selectors for accepting his choice of M Hafeez and Shoaib Malik. What a mockery? What is going on in the PCB which is Pakistan Cricket Board not PERSONAL Cricket Board? The worthy chairman PCB and it’s honourable governing board members must immediately intervene to finish this Tamasha of selecting a player who retired from Test cricket in December 2018, but are annoyed and displeased with Aamir and Wahab (and discarding both players for selection) for their apparent announcement in 2019 of refusing to play Test cricket. Why different yardsticks and separate logics for selecting and not selecting different players? Why not one consistent policy for all players?

9. Muhammad Husnain Hope he is physically fit now, because the CS informed before the advent of the Australian tour that he was not fit.

10. Muhammad Rizwan Automatic choice. However, the U19 captain Rohail Nazir may in the coming days prove to be a better choice for selection of World Cup team.

11. Musa Khan Automatic Choice. Correct selection.

12. Shadab Khan PM thought he may be a trump card before the departure of our team for the ODI World Cup 2019. However, he did his best to prove our PM wrong. Not to play him is a risk, but to play him is a bigger risk. Our selectors should have given a chance to Umar Khan (specially in this domestic series) who seems to have tremendous potential. Still the chairman PCB may intervene and induct him in place of Shadab Khan.

13. Shaheen Shah Afridi At the moment he is one of the best bowler of our team. However, his pathetic fielding provided a lot of entertainment to the Australians. If Naseem Shah has been rested, he could also have been rested for the T20I series against a very weak team.

14. Shoaib Malik (DoB 01/02/82 He will be in the 39th year starting 1st February 2020). He retired from the Test Cricket on 3 Nov 2015 and from ODI’s on 5th July 2019. Our worthy selectors (on the request of captain) selected him for the series against the 9th ranked team to perform splendidly, for ultimately making a case of a 39 years youngster, for his inclusion in the World Cup squad. However, the question arises that if at all SM was under the radar of the worthy selectors for the World Cup squad, then he must have been selected and tested during the just concluded Australian tour, where our batting was so pathetic that we (the number one ranked team in the world) lost the T20I match at Perth by 10 wickets when the Australians overhauled our score of 106/8 in just 11.5 overs without loss of any wicket. We have super talented young batsmen viz. Abid Ali, Khurram Manzoor, Zeeshan Ashraf and few others waiting in the wings to be given a chance in place of spent cartridges like Shoaib Malik, who let us down so miserable in the ODI World Cup 2019, but still PCB has not learnt any lessons from the wrong selection of Shoaib, who retired from Test cricket in 2015.
Our selectors think that their gross favouritism and nepotism in selection process can be disguised from the public by their words of “making use of experience” or forcing the timid captain to announce that he was glad these oldies nearing 40 years of age, were included on his special begging and pleadings. No Sir, enough is enough. After these strategic blunders, as explained above in detail, it is high time that if the chairman PCB and its BoG members fail to intervene, then Mr. Imran Khan, being the Chief Patron of the PCB, must use his authority to stem the rot in the PCB, before it was too late and this organisation is turned into a Personal Cricket Board.

15. Usman Qadir He is an excellent future prospect. However, Misbah ul Haq, Waqar Younis and Babar Azam owe an explanation (which PCB will never seek) why he was not given a chance in the T20I series against the Aussies when they took him there with the team? It looks that our think tank (Cricket Committee) headed by Wasim Khan and the team management persons are absolutely clueless, as far as the planning and devising strategy for the T20I World Cup 2020 is concerned. May be the PCB bosses think that it is a very easy excuse to put the blame of loss of matches, series and tournaments on the players (or the previous management as was done in the case of poor performance in the ODI World Cup 2019) and start a new stint. However, the fact is that always the generals lose the war, not their troops.

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad