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Thursday, November 14, 2024  
12 Jumada Al-Awwal 1446  

‘No magic wand’: PCB chief Mohsin Navi says will fix team before leaving

Mohsin Naqvi calls for long-term planning to revive the sport in the country
Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi addresses a press conference in Karachi on August 26, 2024. Screengrab via Aaj News
Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi addresses a press conference in Karachi on August 26, 2024. Screengrab via Aaj News

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has said that he would leave the national team in a better shape before his departure.

“I will fix the team before I leave,” Naqvi told reporters in Lahore on Monday, a day after the Shan Masood-XI faced a humiliating loss to Bangladesh in the Rawalpindi Test.

Bangladesh registered their first-ever Test win against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Sunday, thanks to spinners Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan. The duo took seven wickets between them to secure a stunning 10-wicket victory.

The hosts batting collapsed to 146 on the final day of the first Test, setting visitors a meagre 30-run target on the final day. In response, Bangladesh achieved the target in a mere 39 balls without the loss of a wicket.

Pakistan skipper Shan Masood described the loss as “disappointing”.

But Naqvi believed it was “extremely disappointing”. For this reason, he has sought a report and would review all issues including the pitch.

“The team’s condition has been the same for the last three years,” the PCB chairman said and acknowledged the team’s poor performance. “I don’t have a magic wand” to fix the issues, he said.

Naqvi stressed the need for long-term planning to revive the sport in the country. We will have to do comprehensive planning to fix cricket,“ he remarked.

Pakistan’s batting crumbled on a pitch that had been unresponsive over the first four days until small cracks started to appear that were exploited by Bangladesh’s spinners.

The hosts also paid for not including a frontline spinner as they fell to the fifth defeat in their past nine home matches, with four draws.

The PCB chairman expressed hope that new players would emerge during the upcoming Champions Cup and mentioned that domestic cricket needed to improve. “If domestic cricket improves, then surgery will happen.”

He stated that Waqar Younus would take charge of a team as a mentor for the Champions Cup. The former fast bowler was appointed as an adviser until the mentors’ setup was complete, according to Naqvi.

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“We don’t have any software to know the whereabouts of the backup players,” the PCB chairman said.

He went on to add that it would give the PCB a pool of 150 players for selection. “These 150 players have been selected purely on merit,” he said and added that the event would end in the last week of September.

Naqvi revealed that some people wanted him to resign four days after he took the position of PCB chairman. “I cannot resign just because some people want me to.”

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