Former captain Rashid Latif has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to keep the 1992 World Cup-winning team away from the management. On being asked about Pakistan’s inability to win ICC titles consistently, Latif came up with a cheeky suggestion that the players who played in the 90s should be kept away from the team, as well as the management. Latif’s remarks came amid criticism of the Mohammad Rizwan-led team after their early exit from the Champions Trophy.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“It took 17 years [for Pakistan to win another World Cup] because the 90s players did not spare Pakistan cricket. Keep 90s players away from management and from the team as well then they will try to win. Even I am from the 90s. They have been serving Pakistan cricket for so long now. So, I think, they should rest now,” Latif said on Geo News show ‘Harna Mana Hai’.
Recently, Latif hinted that the side will introduce fresh faces in the team for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand, starting on March 16.
With the performance of senior players under scrutiny, Latif took to X to share the list of players who are under consideration for New Zealand T20Is.
For New Zealand T20 squad
Batting Coach Mohammad Yousuf
Shadab khan (Captain)
Muhammad haris
Sufyan Muqeem
Irfan khan Niazi
Shaheen Afridi
Abbas Afridi
Jahandad khan
Abrar Ahmed
Umair bin Yousuf
Khushdil Shah
Hassan Nawaz
Abdul Samad
Haris Rauf
Usman Khan
Hussain Talat…— Rashid Latif | ?? (@iRashidLatif68) March 3, 2025
Meanwhile, former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria said that if Rizwan decides to step down, then the veteran Fakhar Zaman can enter the conversations of being a captain.
“He is fearless and will ask you a few questions. He brings the X-Factor. Yesterday (during the Pakistan-India match), Pakistan did not have him (as he is ruled out of Champions Trophy due to injury). It has to be accepted he is an X-Factor player. He is not given much encouragement because it will cause Babar and Rizwan’s shops to be shut. But he is really hard-working and courageous as a cricketer,” he added.
Speaking about a change in way Pakistan select their players, Kaneria said that the focus should be on the committee giving players one year time and within that time frame, evaluating their performances very honestly.
“If they do not produce the results, they can be asked to pack their bags and leave. There should be such strict guidelines. But here, they make teams based on friendship and PR. When you make a team for your country, you do not think of yourself. But here, everyone is sitting, running their shop. Score small runs and keep working. Things do not work this way. If you work like this, you will also get results like this (Pakistan being out of CT),” he concluded.
from: NDTV Sports-Latest