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The Pakistan Cricket Board has started clearing the dues of national team players, which were held up for the last few months because of issues relating to new central contracts. A PCB official confirmed that majority of the players offered new contracts had signed the document and their dues had been cleared dating back to June.
After a forgettable Cricket World Cup, the Pakistan cricket team went through some big changes on Wednesday. Skipper Babar Azam resigned from his post and Shan Masood was made the Test captain while the reins of the T20I team were given to Shaheen Afridi. Pakistan lost five out of their nine matches and failed to qualify for the semifinals. Babar himself did not have a great outing in the tournament with 320 runs from 9 matches.
Former Test captain Mohammad Hafeez expressed his delight at being appointed the Team Director of the Pakistan cricket side and asserted that they would strive for excellence together. He has been given the responsibility of reshaping the national team after Pakistan's league stage elimination in the World Cup. Hafeez will also be serving as a coach and he will be consulted when the PCB appoints the new support staff of the team for the forthcoming tours to Australia and New Zealand.
Babar Azam's decision to step down from Pakistan captaincy has evoked a mixed reaction from his teammates, with a few of them taking to social media to praise the 29-year-old's contributions as the leader while some others remained silent. Babar on Wednesday had announced his decision to relinquish Pakistan leadership roles across formats after the team failed to enter the semifinals of the ongoing World Cup. Pacer Naseem Shah, who had missed the marquee event with an injury, took to X to extend his support for Babar.
:Babar Azam stepped down as Pakistan's cricket captain on Wednesday, days after a group stage exit from the World Cup.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam arrived in Lahore on Monday following the failed World Cup campaign, with the word going around that he will not voluntarily step down and wait for the the Pakistan Cricket Board to take a call. Babar, who was received by his family members at the Lahore International Airport, looked downcast as he came out of the building surrounded by security personnel. The insider word is that Babar will meet PCB chief Zaka Ashraf this week and will take a call on his all-format captaincy after the meeting. Pakistan, the 1992 champions, failed to make it to the semifinals after an unimpressive run where they lost five of the nine league matches. Babar was first made the white-ball captain in late 2019 and, in 2021, he also took over as the Test skipper. He has led Pakistan in two Asia Cups, two T20 World Cups and the ongoing ODI World Cup without winning any title.
Pakistan national men's selection committee on Wednesday named the squads for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan and the Asia Cup 2023. The announcement came as a surprise for many fans as Shan Masood and Ihsanullah have been dropped from the side. Apart from them, another exclusion that left everyone utterly shocked was of batter Saud Shakeel, who has not been included in the Asia Cup squad. Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal came in support of Shakeel and stated that the 27-year-old batter has the potential to reach the level of Virat Kohli and Babar Azam.
Pakistan pacer Shahnawaz Dahani expressed his frustration after being left out of the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. Dahani and Shan Masood missed out on selection for the continental tournament, with all-rounder Faheem Ashraf recalled to the side after almost two years. Disappointed with his omission from the squad, Dahani slammed former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper-batter Rashid Latif, who shared the List A stats of Pakistani fast bowlers. The list, however, did not have Dahani's stats on it.