The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reportedly decided not to take any disciplinary action against the players.
The latest reports indicated that the PCB was not happy with the way some of the players behaved in the dressing room during the tour of England and the T20 World Cup and that they were ready to take action. Pakistani media claimed that the PCB sacked the team’s technical director Mansoor Rana for not taking action against the players and wanted to investigate the entire matter.
Reports had it that fast bowler Shaheen Afridi was in the PCB’s firing line. The left-handed bowler had misbehaved with batting coach Mohammad Yousuf during the England tour and though he had issued an apology in front of the entire team, the PCB wanted to take disciplinary action. Afridi also decided not to take part in team discussions during the T20 World Cup.
Afridi was reportedly in danger of being dropped from the Test squad for the upcoming series against Bangladesh at home. While only time will reveal his fate, PTI reported that the PCB has decided to follow the recommendations of its head coaches and will not impose any punitive measures on the players. The PCB took the decision to allow the players to fully concentrate on the upcoming assignments.
“But no disciplinary committee has been formed as per the board’s constitution so far,” a PCB source told the outlet.
The source claimed that PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi had a discussion with white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten, Test head coach Jason Gillespie, selectors Mohammad Yousuf and Asad Shafiq before abandoning the plan to take disciplinary action.
“The coaches have assured the president that they must be given time to calm down the team and get rid of any internal problems. Their view is that the problems are not so serious that they cannot be resolved in the dressing room,” the source said.
Pakistan aiming for much-needed win over Bangladesh:
Pakistan will be desperate to get back to winning ways in Tests and win the upcoming series against Bangladesh. The series will be their first assignment since the T20 World Cup in June where they had a disastrous campaign. The Babar Azam-led side had bowed out of the tournament in the group stage after suffering defeats against the United States and India.
Meanwhile, the two-match Test series between Pakistan and Bangladesh will begin on August 21 in Rawalpindi. The second match is scheduled to be played from August 30 in Karachi.