LAHORE: With Pakistan out of the 2023 World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is set to consider the options of introducing a split captaincy and hiring a new coach next week.
The high-level meeting — chaired by PCB management committee Zaka Ashraf — will be held at the board’s headquarters in Lahore next week and will also be attended by former cricketers and captains who will give their insights on the dismal performance team in the tournament.
The development comes as the Green Shirts’ World Cup journey ends on Saturday (today) as they look unlikely to chase down England’s target of 338 runs in the required overs to surpass New Zealand’s net run rate (NRR) to advance in the semi-finals.
Pakistan needed to restrict England to 100 runs to have any chance of qualifying for the semi-finals, but with the latter having surpassed that number, the Men in Green are now out of the tournament.
The Babar Azam-led side have so far managed to win just four of their eight matches – including a loss to arch-rivals India and Afghanistan – with a rather unimpressive NRR of 0.036.
PCB technical committee chief Misbah-ul-Haq along with former cricketers Umar Gul, Azhar Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Mushtaq Ahmed, Aqib Javed, Mohsin Khan and Moin Khan will give their input to Ashraf.
The board also wants to get in touch with Mohammad Hafeez, who resigned from the committee shortly before the World Cup squad was announced.
Ashraf will talk about possible changes to the coaching staff and there will be a legal consultation on their contracts as well.
Justin Langer’s name would be discussed for coaching.
Different captains’ choices of red ball and white ball shape is also one of the agenda for the upcoming meeting.
However, some top PCB officials do not want major changes to be made just before the three-match Test tour of Australia.
Babar, who entered the World Cup as the leading ODI player but averages 40.28, has come under scrutiny for his captaincy and the team’s dismal performance in the mega event.
The number three’s highest score of 74 came in the shock defeat to Afghanistan, but the 29-year-old denied the captaincy was affecting his form with the bat.
According to sources, the skipper has already started consultations with his close aides about his future and has reportedly decided to leave the white ball captaincy.
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