PCB to conduct workshop on Pakistan cricket's future, Babar Azam, Shan Masood to attend event

Babar Azam and Shan Masood will be among the senior Pakistan players who will be taking part in a one-day workshop organized by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to discuss the future direction of Pakistan cricket.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has named the event the 'Strategic Connection Camp'. The event is set to take place at a local hotel in Lahore. Apart from Babar Azam and Shan Masood, several other big names from the Pakistan team such as Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi will be participating in the event.

The meeting will also be attended by Pakistan's Test head coach Jason Gillespie, ODI and T20I head coach Gary Kirsten, assistant coach Azhar Mahmood, and High-Performance specialist David Reid. Senior PCB officials and the selectors will attend the meeting as well. The aim of the meeting is to identify the issues plaguing Pakistan cricket and make a strategic path for its betterment.

"We aim to identify key issues, foster open dialogue and collectively agree on a strategic path forward to successfully reshape Pakistan cricket," PTI quoted PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi as saying in a statement.

"The Connection Camp is a critical step toward unifying our approach to restore Pakistan cricket to its former glory. Our aim is to identify key issues, foster open dialogue and collectively agree on a strategic path forward."

"The PCB remains optimistic that this session, which builds on prior discussions with former cricketers, will lead to a results-driven strategy that improves both player management and team performance," he added.

Pakistan cricket in disarray leaving PCB concerned:

Things have been going only downhill for Pakistan in the last few months. In June this year, the Men in Green failed to progress ahead of the group stage in the T20 World Cup following defeats to the USA and India.

Recently, they suffered an embarrassing Test series defeat against Bangladesh at home. Before the series, Pakistan had not lost a single Test against Bangladesh but ended up losing both games this time. The Pakistan Cricket Board has taken several steps in recent months such as appointing new captains, coaches, and selectors but they have not yielded the desired result so far.

Pakistan will be in action next in October when they host England for a three-match Test series. The series is scheduled to get underway on October 7 in Multan. Shan Masood is yet to win a Test as a captain and will be desperate to lead his team to victory in the upcoming series.

The PCB will also be hoping that the team regain its best form soon and perform well in next year's Champions Trophy. The marquee event is scheduled to be played in Pakistan in February-March.