Pakistan’s Babar Azam celebrates after taking a catch to dismiss England’s Ben Duckett during the second Test at the Lord’s against England. (AP)
After losing the second Test by 194 runs at Lord’s, PCB decided to drop Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Imam-ul-Haq, Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Aamir Jamal and Muhammad Awais Zafar. More than 72 hours later, we received no response. Then, captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were handed prison sentences and banned for taking bribes from a bookmaker to deliberately bowl no-balls at certain pre-aranged moments during the Test match in 2010.
Sarfaraz Ahmed, the head coach, and Umar Gul, the bowling coach, were also released from their duties.
It has been learnt that the drastic changes being made within Pakistan cricket were driven by reasons that were “more than cricket” and not merely a fallout of the team’s dismal performances. “The message we’re sending to the recalled players is that you have to raise your game on important tours and compete, and we should be able to see some effort,” he said. The purpose behind these changes is not to axe players from contention, but just to replace them,” Naqvi told Geo Network.
NEW DELHI: The ghost of match-fixing has returned to haunt the Pakistan cricket team and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) during the ongoing three-match Test series against England. In their place, seven players have been drafted into the squad, including five yet to make their international debuts. The two capped players are batters Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal, while the uncapped group comprises pace-bowling all-rounders Razaullah Khan and Mohammad Imran, left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas, wicketkeeper Saad Baig and left-arm pacer Mohammad Imran Junior. We have reached out to the concerned parties for a comment, including hosts the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and PCB. Every match of a series is important for us and we are not left with any option if a player is not performing but to look for his replacement. The purpose behind these changes is not to axe players from contention, but just to replace them Aaqib had also defended the number of changes that were made mid-series. PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi echoed Aaqib Javed’s sentiments and defended their knee-jerk reaction in a vociferous manner. Incidentally, Lord’s was the venue for one of the biggest spot-fixing scandal in cricket and it involved the Pakistan cricket team.