Pakistan cricket needs new officials: Jalal

KARACHI: Former Test and ODI cricketer Jalaluddin said on Wednesday that the PCB must shun its practice of appointing officials who have previously failed in guiding the team to success.

Talking to ‘The News’ about Pakistan’s performance in the World T20, he said that the results of Pakistan cricket team were well anticipated. “I had said already that all was not well with the team and the management,” he said.

He said selectors, coaches and assistant coaches should be appointed from among those who have remained associated with the domestic cricket and know the players from the grassroots level.

“The musical chair game should end. Those who have been appointed many times and have failed should be said goodbye,” he demanded.

He pointed out that Pakistan’s players were not playing according to the needs of modern day cricket. “Their mindset, approach and playing skills are not up to the standard required for current day’s cricket,” said Jalal, who is a highly qualified cricket coach.

He said that chief selector Haroon Rasheed, selection committee members and team manager Intikhab Alam have been working in various positions for the last two decades. “Each time when the team performs poorly, only their posts are changed,” he said.

He said Shahid Afridi did not have the ability to lead the team.

Jalal said it was time PCB appointed chief selector, selection committee members, coaches and assistant coaches from among those people who had been attached with domestic cricket for long and knew the abilities of players.

He said it was very surprising that one of the team officials reported to PCB that Afridi did not have the ability to read the pitch and was a poor judge of his players’ talents.

He said it was ridiculous that a team official was now saying that Afridi was not a good captain.

Jalal said that Pakistan cricket team could not be converted into a winning squad overnight. “We need comprehensive planning. Our system has not been producing good cricketers. We need to overhaul it,” he stressed.

He said the PCB was under the grip of 1990s players who had played a lot but were performing badly in their current positions as officials or advisers. “The board must come out of their influence,” he emphasised.