Pakistan Cricket Shake-up Sees Leading Stars Return To Domestic Cricket, But It May Harm Them. Ex-Star Explains Why
After the Pakistan Cricket Board's much-debated decision to sack seven players mid-series during the Tour of England, it seems to have rattled the top players
- Babar Azam and several Pakistan players will feature in domestic first-class cricket after a long time
- Ahmed Shehzad supported international players playing domestic cricket but urged caution
- Domestic coaches are inadequate to properly prepare players for international success, he said
After the Pakistan Cricket Board's much-debated decision to sack seven players mid-series during the Tour of England, it seems to have rattled the top players. Several international players have lined up to play for domestic teams. Babar Azam is set to make an appearance in a domestic first-class match for the first time since 2019. He is lined up to represent the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) team against Kingsmen Academy in the ongoing President's Trophy Grade-I competition from September 18.
Babar is not the only centrally contracted player appearing in domestic red-ball cricket following the disastrous tour to England. Others, such as fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf, who hardly play any first-class matches at home, have already appeared for different teams in the President's Trophy.
Pakistan star Ahmed Shehzad welcomed the step but had a word of caution.
"There is no doubt that having Pakistan's international players playing domestic cricket is a very good thing. But you also have to create the right atmosphere for those players," Shehzad said during a discussion with Geo News.
"These are things we have not worked on for a very long time. Some things are being done simply to show something in the media."
He added that Pakistan batters struggle on pitches that offer pace and lateral movement, something that may not be available everywhere in Pakistan.
"The first thing you have to look at is where your national team is struggling. Pakistan struggle on slightly quicker pitches where there is some lateral movement. That is where their technique gets exposed," he said.
"So you should prepare pitches that offer some support to the bowlers. Your batters will then learn how to cope with those conditions and how to play in them. Let them make their mistakes at this level and work on them here, because there is less pressure."
"Unfortunately, our domestic coaches are not at the level required to groom our cricketers and youngsters so that when they reach international cricket, they don't merely compete, they are capable of winning matches for Pakistan."
"The more mistakes you continue to make in domestic cricket, the further the Pakistan team will keep going down."
Pakistan Cricket Team