PCB reviews Pakistan's performance at Asia Cup, World Cup squad to be announced tomorrow

Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board under the Chairman Management Committee Zaka Ashraf on Thursday evening met with the national coaching staff headed by Mickey Arthur, captain Babar Azam, vice-captain Shadab Khan, and former captains Misbah ul Haq and Mohammad Hafeez - to review Pakistan Men’s cricket team performance in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Asia Cup 2023.

Pakistan finished at the bottom of Super Four stage of the tournament, losing to India and Sri Lanka after registering a win over Bangladesh.

In the meeting, the complete men’s national coaching staff which includes head coach Grant Bradburn, batting coach Andrew Puttick, and bowling coach Morne Morkel were also invited to report on the team’s recent performance. The review meeting was also attended by Dr Sohail Saleem to brief about players’ injuries and the way forward for players' rehabilitation programs.

In a robust analysis, every aspect of recent team performance, player fitness, and future plans came into discussion with a view to bringing improvement to the side. There was an agreement on making a better approach and strategy on players’ workload. The importance of strengthening the bench was also emphasised.

Chairman Management Committee Zaka Ashraf said in a PCB statement: "The philosophy behind this review was to create an atmosphere of open discussion and develop consensus. The idea is to have everyone on board and debate about performances, identifying the problems and their solutions. We have to debate strengths and weaknesses so that we are clear about what and where we need to invest for the betterment of our team."

"Discussion revealed that the previous management had allowed a lot of players to play league cricket which caused them to fatigued ahead of their national duty. But going forward we have agreed to form a proactive approach to tackle players' workload and give national duty a priority."

"I am glad we had a good positive review session and are on the same page. We are confident that the experience gained in the Asia Cup was a learning curve and will help prepare for the ICC Men's World Cup."

"Our team is filled with talent, and we believe they have the capability to compete and win at the highest level. We have world-class batters and bowlers and are committed to providing them with the necessary support and resources to ensure they are well-equipped ahead of the mega event," he concluded.

Inzamam ul Haq, chief selector, who could not make into the meeting yesterday due to a medical emergency but met Zaka Ashraf on Thursday afternoon to share his input. After the completion of the review, Inzamam has finalised the Pakistan squad for the ICC World Cup, which will be announced on Friday morning in a press conference.