Lahore
The Pakistan team’s performance was very poor in the Champions Trophy and its impact can now be seen on the tour of New Zealand. Pakistan has to visit New Zealand after the Champions Trophy and it is being told that some senior players can separate themselves from the team going on that tour. Pakistan is hosting any ICC tournament after a 29 -year -long gap but was out of it without winning a single match.
Necklace against New Zealand-Pakistan
Pakistan started a campaign in Karachi with a huge 60 -run defeat against New Zealand and then lost to arch rival India by six wickets in Dubai. Rawalpindi had to cancel the domestic team match against Bangladesh on Thursday due to rain. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official, who is aware of this case, said that some players are considering whether they should travel to New Zealand?
Limited over series to play against New Zealand
Pakistan has to play five T20 International and three ODIs during the white ball tour from 16 March to 5 April. Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Nasim Shah are considering keeping themselves unavailable for the tour. A source said, these players know that there is a lot of possibility of the selectors being excluded. They would now like to try new faces, so such players are thinking about not taking themselves back. They are consulting with their representatives to take the next step.
Uncertainty about Rizwan’s future
Captain Mohammad Rizwan’s future is also a cloud of uncertainty as the selectors may recommend the Chairman for the reconstruction of the T20 team before the end of this year and the T20 team before the T20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka next year. Meanwhile, PCB is looking for a new role for interim head coach Aqib Javed at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. According to a source, Javed had requested Chairman Mohsin Naqvi several times for work at the academy last year. The source said, Aqib’s term as an interim head coach has ended, now he is being considered to hand over a senior position at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. The board had asked Javed to hold the post of interim head coach due to the resignation of Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie. All decisions will be taken after the Champions Trophy is over on March 9.