Stick To Your Decisions, Be Brave: Wasim Akram Tears Apart PCB

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to give the newly-appointed coaches and consultants at least one year. In the wake of the team’s disastrous campaign in the ODI World Cup, the PCB has made several changes to the team management.

Former allrounder Mohammad Hafeez has replaced Mickey Arthur as the team director. He will also serve as the head coach of the side for the upcoming series against Pakistan. Grant Bradburn was the head coach of Pakistan till the World Cup.

The PCB has also replaced Inzamam-ul-Haq with Wahab Riaz as the chief selector in addition to roping in Kamran Akmal, Salman Butt, and Rao Iftikhar as consultants to the chief selector. Babar Azam has also stepped down as the captain and has been replaced by Shan Masood and Shaheen Afridi as Test and T20I captains respectively.

Wasim Akram’s message to the PCB and fans:

As the likes of Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz gear up for their first assignment as the coach and chief selector respectively, Wasim Akram has thrown his support behind them. On Monday (December 4), he posted a video on X to wish luck to the Pakistan team as well as the new appointees ahead of the three-match Test series against Australia.

“The Pakistan team has arrived in Australia. I wish them all the best, especially the new boys. With Hafeez as the cricket director/coach, Wahab as the chief selector, and Kamran Akmal and others, give them some time. They are the present cricketers, it’s their turn. Let’s give them one year.

“And one more piece of advice, don’t hold press conferences every 3 minutes. Stick to your decisions. If you’ve made a decision, you should know the consequences, whether they will happen or not. So decide first. Stick to your decisions. Be brave,” he added.

– Stick to your decisions and be brave… #Cricket #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/greyXxgtvq

— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) December 4, 2023

The three-match Test series is scheduled to begin on December 14 in Pakistan. The visitors have not won a Test in Australia since 1999 and have been whitewashed in their last five Test series in the country. They will be desperate to change their record in the forthcoming series.

Pakistan squad:

Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi

Australia squad:

(first Test only) Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner

Australia vs Pakistan Test series schedule:

First Test: December 14-18, Perth Stadium

Second Test: December 26-30, MCG

Third Test: January 3-7, SCG