KarachiPakistan head coach Saqlain Mushtaq may step down as head coach after the team’s dismal Test series against England at home while Babar Azam may lose captaincy in the longest format of the game in July next year, sources have said. . A source close to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) told PTI on Wednesday that former off-spinner Saqlain is likely to step down after the home Test series against New Zealand starting December 26 in Karachi.
The source said Babar and Saqlain left for Lahore soon after the defeat in the third Test in Karachi on Tuesday. “A high-level meeting was held at the office of PCB chairman Rameez Raja at the Gaddafi Stadium, which was also attended by chief selector Mohammad Wasim,” the source said. The source said that Babar, Saqlain and Wasim told Raja that it was because Pakistan lost the Test series 0-3.
“Every aspect of the team, selection matters, captaincy and Saqlain’s role were discussed in the meeting which lasted for about three hours,” the source said. He said the selectors were supposed to announce the squad for the two-Test series against New Zealand after the conclusion of the Karachi Test on Tuesday, but on the instructions of Raja, the announcement was postponed till Wednesday. The source said that Raja conveyed his views to Babar, Saqlain and Wasim and made it clear that he was not happy with the selection for the series.
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“Babar told the chairman that injuries to the three main fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah had hampered their plans and the bowling was too weak to allow the English batsmen to score easily,” he said. The source said that Babar told Raja that Pakistan currently does not have experienced and quality players to play against teams like Australia, England and New Zealand.
Saqlain confirmed to Raja that as per the earlier decision he would step down as head coach after the series against New Zealand in January and the PCB should start the search for a new coach. The source said that the board also feels that Babar should only captain the limited-overs side and the Test format captaincy should probably be handed over to Shan Masood or Mohammad Rizwan.
“There has been a lot of discussion regarding Babar’s future as Test captain and it has been decided to maintain status quo for the time being,” he said. The source said that it was unanimously decided that it would not be right to remove Babar from the Test captaincy between now and July as it would demoralize the team and also affect the captain’s form. “But it was decided that Babar would be replaced as Test captain in July,” he said. (agency)