Pakistan Coaches Push for Stability Amid Captaincy Changes
Lately, Pakistan cricket has seen some ups & downs. Coaches Garyen and Jason Gillespie, who handle the white-ball & red-ball teams, are speaking out. They have strong feelings about the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) quick changes in team leadership. They want things to settle down as debates heat up over who should captain the national team in both formats.
After a tough time at the ODI World Cup 2023, the made headlines. They removed Babar Azam from his white-ball captain role. Shaheen Afridi took over, but his time was short due to a poor performance in a series. Then, Babar stepped down as Test captain, making way for Shan Masood. But just recently, Masood faced trouble when the team lost a home series to Bangladesh, raising questions about his future too.
Even with all this change
someone close to the PCB dismissed talk of quick captaincy changes. This source said that Kirsten & Gillespie believe both captains need more time to show what they can do before anyone judges them harshly. “There’s been no talk about changing captains,” stated the source. “Chairman Mohsin Naqvi is letting the coaches & selectors decide.”
The same source added that “Kirsten & Gillespie clearly agree that both Shan and Babar deserve a fair chance before judgment on their leadership.”
At the Connection Camp
workshop coming up in Lahore later this month, captaincy changes won’t be on the agenda. This workshop aims to bring domestic cricket standards up to meet international levels. It will involve feedback from coaches of domestic teams, selectors, and contracted players. The source explained, “This workshop is to hear everyone’s thoughts mainly from domestic team coaches and selectors so that we can close the gap between domestic and international standards.”
As Pakistan’s cricket continues to change, focusing on stability shows a commitment to building long-term success & steady leadership.