PAK vs NZ: "He Played With A Lot Of Passion, We Also Need To Do The Same" - Najam Sethi Explains Why Shahid Afridi Was Picked As Pakistan's Chief Selector

Last Monday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed former captain Shahid Afridi as the National Selection Committee’s interim chairman. The hiring of Afridi coincided with a number of significant shifts in the Pakistan cricket organisation, including Ramiz Raja’s departure as chairman. For the upcoming four months, the game will be managed by a 14-member committee led by Najam Sethi.

Raja was fired by the Pakistani government via notice last week after the country’s side was thrashed 3-0 by England in a Test series. The federal cabinet must formally accept the notice, which was issued by Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

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Shahid Afridi’s Approach Is Very Upfront: Najam Sethi

Sethi has now revealed the rationale behind choosing Shahid Afridi as the chief selector.

“Shahid (Afridi) is a busy man. We persuaded him after a lot of effort. I am very grateful that he agreed. He understood there was a need to do the job. Shahid is very aggressive, and dynamic. His approach is very upfront, he played with a lot of passion. We also need to do the same,” Najam Sethi stated in an interview uploaded on Pakistan Cricket’s YouTube channel. 

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“There will be losses and wins in a game. But we cannot go forward with a timid approach. We don’t how many bowlers to play. We thought batting was an issue, but on these (Pakistan’s) pitches bowling is also an issue.

“Keeping that in mind we thought Shahid is the best man. And some of the changes that have been done, like bringing in Sarfaraz Ahmed (for the second Test against New Zealand).” 

Shahid Afridi Giving Opportunities To Youngsters

As immediately as Shahid Afridi took over, he brought in right-arm fast bowler Mohammad Zeeshan, top-order batsman Basit Ali, and all-rounder Arafat Minhas to give the young players exposure and opportunity abroad.

Pakistan, which lacks quality alternatives to substitute their first-choice players, will attempt to build squad depth in red-ball cricket. This was made clear by their humiliating 0-3 loss to England in the recently finished home Test series.

The test squad for the New Zealand series was strengthened by the additions of Mir Hamza, Sajid Khan, and Shahnawaz Dahani by Afridi’s selection committee.

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