The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is set to undertake a wholesale review of all aspects of international and domestic cricket in a bid to “restore the pride and excellence” of Pakistan cricket.
The specifics around how they achieve that are somewhat less clear, but Naqvi believes the connection camp is the first step towards reversing the course of the national side. The PCB feels it needs the camp to set out a unified vision and shared purpose, and to understand how it is perceived by fellow cricketing nations, as well as its own fans.
It is not surprising to see why the comparison with the England review appeals to the PCB. Its success was achieved at great speed, with a series against New Zealand immediately following that disastrous World Cup demonstrating how quickly a tide could be turned.
One significant challenge is the quality of talent Pakistan can draw from. After their cultural reset, England were able to draw from a pool that has come to be seen as their white-ball golden generation, while just last month, Naqvi acknowledged Pakistan’s reserves of talent in domestic cricket were worryingly low, dampening the prospect of a quick reversal.
The PCB has also gone all in on the domestic one-day competition, rebranded as the Champions One-Day Cup. It is set to be held in Faisalabad from September 12 to 29, a week before the start of Pakistan’s Test series against England, with the connection camp taking place on a rest day during the tournament. Naqvi expressed confidence this tournament would be able to begin restocking the domestic player pool, and with the connection camp, he believes he has the opportunity to reshape the board’s vision.
There is, however, recognition that any such discussion, camp or meeting will be met with huge scepticism from the fans. The PCB is understood to accept there is a massive gulf of trust between the board and the game’s followers, who do not believe Pakistan cricket is heading in the right direction, or indeed that the right people are running it. While the camp looks to begin bridging that trust, the only tangible way to do that will involve better results on the field in international cricket.
