Dubai, Feb 24 (IANS) The defending champions and host Pakistan are on the verge of being eliminated from the Champions Trophy following a six-wicket loss to India. Former spinner Danish Kaneria suggested that PCB should adopt a strict approach, like India did after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series loss, to achieve the desired results.
Pakistan lost to New Zealand in Karachi in the tournament opener by 60 runs and lost their second game to arch-rivals India, as they still have no points to show on the points table with just one match to go. There is only a flicker of hope remaining for hosts at the Champions Trophy, who are now relying solely on other results to have any chance of progressing to the semifinals.
Following Pakistan’s loss to India, Kaneria said PCB needs to ask players to stay away from distractions and focus on making their game better.
“I hope PCB doesn’t make the mistake that happened in Lahore when India’s national anthem was mistakenly played (during the Australia vs England match)”, Kaneriya told IANS.
“The PCB’s job is to give strict orders to ensure that they stay away from all distractions and focus on improving their cricket.”
“They should give a one-year timeframe to the selectors, coach, and captain, saying, ‘We need results.’. If they don’t deliver within a year, they should step down themselves. A more strict approach will be needed—friendship and camaraderie won’t get the job done.
“They have almost been eliminated from the tournament now, so their focus will be on ensuring the smooth conduct of the tournament. It would be really interesting to see that Pakistan is hosting the tournament and the final features India and New Zealand facing off against each other in Dubai,” Kaneria said.
He further stated that Pakistan needs a fast-bowling all-rounder like Hardik Pandya and skilled left-arm spinners. Kuldeep Yadav’s dismissal of Salman Agha with a deceptive googly highlights the importance of such spinners.
“I think Pakistan needs two strong all-rounders: a fast-bowling all-rounder like Hardik Pandya, and they also need good left-arm spinners. The way Kuldeep Yadav got Salman Agha out, without him even realizing it was a googly, highlights the importance of skilled spinners,” he added.
The former cricketer urged PCB to be direct with Mohammad Rizwan about his future as captain and decide how long they will continue with him in the role.
“The PCB needs to be strict to get the desired results. India also introduced strict guidelines after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and the players delivered. Similarly, PCB needs to work on their tactics and the selection committee. They need to be blunt with Rizwan about his role as captain—how long will they continue with him as captain? They also need to identify Babar Azam’s role and communicate it clearly to him,” he said.
He continued, “One thing that the team needs to do, if they can, is to address the issue if Rizwan is not comfortable as captain and feels it’s affecting his performance. If that’s the case, I think the next person to consider for the role should be Fakhar Zaman. There are many things the PCB needs to do for the betterment of the Pakistan cricket team.”
Pakistan will keep a close eye on Monday’s game, hoping Bangladesh beat New Zealand and leaves Group A contestable for another handful of days. Otherwise, it’ll be New Zealand joining India in qualifying for the semi-finals.
Further highlighting the crowd support for the hosts, Kaneria signed off by noting, “If there’s a Champions Trophy match in Pakistan and the team is out of the tournament, why would people waste their money to watch a match?
“The stadium wasn’t even getting much crowd to begin with, and now that Pakistan is out of the tournament, fans will think, Our team isn’t even in it, so it’s better we watch the match from home.”
The Champions Trophy hosts now return to home soil from Dubai in preparation for Thursday’s showdown against Bangladesh.
–IANS
bc/
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