The Pakistan Cricket Board on Thursday held a review meeting of their woeful Asia Cup show in the wake of their World Cup squad announcement. All teams must finalise their 15-player squads for the cricket showpiece before the September 28 deadline, with any replacements after this date requiring approval from the ICC. “The philosophy behind this review was to create an atmosphere of open discussion and develop consensus,” PCB chairman of the management committee Zaka Ashraf said in a statement. “The idea is to have everyone on board and debate about performances, identifying the problems and their solutions.” The review meeting was also attended by head coach Mickey Arthur, captain Babar Azam, vice-captain Shadab Khan and former skippers Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez.
Chief selector and former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq could not attend the meeting due to a ‘medical emergency’ but shared his inputs with the PCB chief on Thursday.
The other members of the men’s national coaching staff including head coach Grant Bradburn, batting coach Andrew Puttick and bowling coach Morne Morkel “were also invited to report on the team’s recent performance”.
“We have to debate strengths and weaknesses so that we are clear about what and where we need to invest for the betterment of our team,” he added.
Pakistan failed to make the final of the Asia Cup after losing to India and Sri Lanka in the ‘Super Four’. They managed wins only against Nepal and Bangladesh.
In fact, Pakistan, who have won the Asia Cup only twice in 2000 and 2012, suffered their heaviest defeat to arch-rivals India by 228 runs in the ODI format, ahead of their mega clash in the World Cup in Ahmedabad on October 14.
Dr Sohail Saleem briefed about the players’ injuries and “the way forward for players’ rehabilitation programs,” the PCB said.
Pakistan pacers Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf both suffered injuries during their rain-marred clash against India in Colombo, with the former under doubt to play the World Cup.
“In a robust analysis, every aspect of recent team performance, player fitness, and future plans came into discussion with a view to bringing improvement to the side,” the release said.
“There was an agreement on making a better approach and strategy on players’ workload. The importance of strengthening the bench was also emphasized,” it added. PTI DDV TAP
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