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In light of Pakistan's lacklustre performance in the ongoing World Cup 2023 in India, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief, Zaka Ashraf, has initiated consultations with legends of Pakistani cricket.
Earlier this week, Ashraf held discussions with Pakistan's chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq and cricket legends Muhammad Yousuf and Aaqib Javed in Lahore. He has also scheduled meetings with renowned players like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq, and Umar Gul, aiming to gather insights on the future direction of the national team.
A recent press release from PCB highlighted Ashraf's intent to engage with more ex-players to gain their perspectives on nurturing the current squad.
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Ashraf underscored the invaluable experience these former players bring to the table, stating, "These players have served Pakistan at the highest stage and have a treasure of experience under their belts. We hope to utilise their expertise to help ensure our players are developed well in all aspects of the game. In this way, we hope we can produce players in all departments of the game that can serve Pakistan in the future."
Historically, the PCB has often sought to placate disgruntled cricket enthusiasts with such initiatives whenever the national team underperforms in major tournaments. Previous board heads have embarked on similar endeavours, aiming to demonstrate their commitment to enhancing Pakistan cricket.
Furthermore, Ashraf revealed plans for the National Cricket Academy to host a dedicated camp for emerging talents from the domestic arena. He elaborated, "The primary goal of this camp is to nurture these players and make them ready for the international stage, in an attempt to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket."
However, some cricket pundits and ex-players argue that these measures might be superficial, especially given the uncertainty surrounding the tenure of the current cricket management committee post-November 4.
At the moment, in the World Cup 2023 leaderboard, Pakistan sits at the fifth spot, boasting four points and a net run rate of -0.400, attributed to their two victories in five games. Their next face-off is with South Africa on Friday, October 27, at Chepauk.
Presently, Pakistan is ranked fifth. Yet, after facing three successive losses, a further defeat to South Africa this week might diminish the chances of the 1992 champions advancing to the knock-out rounds.
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