The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has put its foot down after the Test debacle against Bangladesh. The Shan Masood-led side was blanked 2-0 on Bangladesh soil recently, and the board helmed by Mohsin Naqvi is now looking to move on from both head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and skipper Masood. According to news agency PTI, the PCB has already held talks wth former players Younis Khan and Mohammad Hafeez, asking them to take up key posts within the national team.
Naqvi has suggested making some changes and an overall revamp to the Test squad, and it remains to be seen whether the action is taken. Sarfaraz, the 2017 Champions Trophy-winning captain, had been appointed as the Test coach right before the Bangladesh series.
“I can confirm that Younis Khan and Mohammad Hafeez have both had talks with PCB officials about joining the board in key positions. But things have yet to be finalised,” PTI quoted a source as saying.
“There is a proposal to remove Sarfaraz as head coach and hand him back the responsibility of managing the national under-19 and A sides,” the source added.
However, Sarfaraz would only be sacked if the PCB reached an agreement with former captain Younis. Earlier, the legendary batter had set strict conditions for accepting any role with the current national team.
‘Shan Masood factor’
Masood is also on the firing line, and he could be shown the door despite his asking for more time to lead the team in the upcoming series against the West Indies and England.
Speaking of Hafeez, he is being considered to take the role of chief selector and also head the international cricket department, but only initial talks have been held between him and the board officials.
“In Hafeez’s case, there is a feeling that since the former player has been pretty critical about the team and board in the media, roping him in might create an impression he has been offered a position to stop his criticism,” the source added.
On Sunday, the PCB also confirmed that 49 players will take part in the National Cricket Academy’s red-ball and white-ball camps. The players who were part of the recently concluded ODI series against Australia and have been selected for the red-ball camp will join the camp from June 15.
“Both camps have been devised to prepare players for upcoming international and domestic events. During the camps, the players will work with National and NCA coaches alongside PCB Medical staff on their skills and fitness. The players will also have one-on-one sessions with coaches to better understand the skills and fitness requirements at the international level,” the PCB said in an official statement.