Pakistan’s next assignment is the Test series at home against England, but as per claims made by country’s former batsman Basit Ali, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is working overtime to ensure the team does well in ICC Champions Trophy that the country is set to host in February-March next year.
Talking about a meeting before the one that was held to pick the squad for the first Test against England, Basit made serious claims, alleging that white-ball coach and former South Africa batsman Gary Kirsten is now part of the politics in Pakistan cricket.
“Pehle dosti yaari group ka jo head tha ab woh change ho gaya hai. Babar (Azam) ne step down kar diya hai group se. Ab uss group ko sambhala hai white-ball ke head coach Gary Kirsten sahab ne (the head of friendship group has changed. Babar has stepped down and now the man taking care of that group is Kirsten),” Basit said in his latest video on YouTube.
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The former batsman said Kirsten spoke about the same things in the meeting that the players have said before, like “bring consistency, be it the selectors or the players, they should be given a long run.”
He said that PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi had no choice but to agree to the suggestion of giving another chance to all-rounder Shadab Khan.
“Kuchh logon ke basis pe hua hai yeh (this happened because of a few people),” Basit said without naming anyone. “Being a head, he (Naqvi) has to support, which is a good thing.
“Par mai isse saazishi-tola bolunga (but I will call this a colluding group), be it the PCB establishment.”
He also slammed the team for its embarrassing Test series whitewash at home against Bangladesh, who not only registered their first ever Test win over Pakistan but also went on to sweep the two-match series 2-0.
“Mai to saaf bolta hu. Bangladesh ne bakri banaya, bakri bana ke haraya Pakistan ko (I talk straight; Bangladesh turned Pakistan into a lamb they could easily defeat)…How long will favours for friends (in selection) last? It only works behind closed doors. On the ground only performance works,” he added.
Basit also claimed that “(Mohammad) Rizwan kept quiet and whatever Shaheen Shah Afridi said fell to deaf ears” during the meeting.
However, contrary to his claims that fast bowler Afridi won’t be in the squad for England Tests, the right-arm pacer was named in the 15-member squad for the first Test.
He believed Kirsten will be sacked after the Champions Trophy.
“He will be at the helm of the team till the Champions Trophy. However, he will be fired after that. I am saying this now that it will be tata, bye bye for him…He has also become a part of the politics of Pakistani cricket. But he won’t be successful…It will be a big achievement for Pakistan to make it to the top four (of Champions Trophy),” said Basit in the video.
