PAK vs SA: PCB Chief Zaka Ashraf Holds Meeting With Former Players After Pakistan's Loss To Afghanistan

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Zaka Ashraf has held a meeting with former players from the country after the team’s disappointing loss to Afghanistan in the ICC World Cup 2023. The Men In Green had no answers to the onslaught as they faced an 8-wicket thrashing.

After the loss against Afghanistan, Pakistan Cricket has hit badly. There have been tensions emerging and there are talks to remove Babar Azam as a captain of the team after the ICC World Cup 2023. The team also has faced a lot of criticism for their performances.

Following the loss against Afghanistan and the backlash, Zaka Ashraf was engaged in discussions with chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq along with Mohammad Yousuf and Aaqib Javed to discuss the road map of the team going ahead.

Zaka Ashraf is also eager to meet Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, and Umar Gul to take their insights for the betterment of the team.

Zaka Ashraf talked about his decision to engage with former cricketers. He said that they are keen to utilize their expertise to develop the current and future players. Speaking in an official statement released by PCB, he explained:

“These players have served Pakistan at the highest stage and have a treasure of experience under their belts. We hope to utilise their expertise to help ensure our players are developed well in all aspects of the game. In this way, we hope we can produce players all departments of the game that can serve Pakistan in the future,”

Zaka Ashraf also talked about the camp that they will be having at the National Cricket Academy for the betterment of cricket in Pakistan. He said that this camp will help bridge the gap between domestic and international players. He added.

“The primary goal of this camp is to nurture these players and make them ready for the international stage, in an attempt to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket.”

PAK vs SA: Zaka Ashraf-led PCB to appoint coaching staff and captain after World Cup – Reports

Pakistan aren’t having the greatest of time in the ICC World Cup 2023. After wins over Netherlands and Sri Lanka, they suffered a thumping loss against India by 7 wickets and then faced another disappointing loss against Australia followed by a defeat against Afghanistan.

Following their poor performance, there have been reports that they Babar Azam will be sacked as the captain after the World Cup. A source close to PCB revealed that Sarfaraz Ahmed is in contention to take the Test and ODI captaincy back. The keeper-batter led Pakistan to a champions trophy win in 2017 but hasn’t been in the white-ball setup. He also added that Shaheen Afridi might be given the T20I captaincy.

Apart from this, he also said that the coaching staff will be changed and there will be new support staff for the Australia series. He added:

“Sarfaraz might win the nod to captain the Test and ODI sides again while Shaheen may get a chance to be the T20 captain. They are very bright chances that Pakistan will have a new coaching staff and captain when they embark on the Test tour of Australia and for the white ball series in New Zealand after the WC.”

Pakistan will next be seen in action when they take on South Africa on Friday (27th October). A loss there would also end their chances of qualifying.