Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has claimed that he would have a 20-member selection committee if he was given the responsibility of handling the team. The pacer’s remarks comes after Salman Ali Agha and co. suffered yet another defeat against India, this time in the Super 4 tie of Asia Cup 2025 where they were handed a 6-wicket loss. According to Akhtar, the current coach and captain are clueless and the players need to be given an extended chance in order to perform.
Akhtar’s measures to revive Pakistan
Speaking on Pakistan TV, Akhtar claimed that the Pakistan Cricket Board would never give him Mike Hesson’s job in the first place. Dubbing his coaching and selection as senseless, the former cricketer claimed that the decisions were beyond him, adding that he felt like a fraud after spending 15 years in the business.
“First of all, PCB will never ask me to do this job. The reason is that I’m going to do the right thing, whatever is necessary. I’m not saying give me the power. I believe in teamwork. I believe in logic. I believe in working together. It’s not about ‘give me the power and I’ll fix it.’ No, no, no, it’s not like that. I would rather have a 20-member selection committee. I will take their advice: ‘What do you guys say? Tell me.’” Akhtar said.
Akhtar further claimed that he needed to be handed the role of a head coach for 3 fixed years in order to rectify the mistakes. He drew a parallel between Saim Ayub and Abhishek Sharma, while explaining how the latter was devoid of the fear of being dropped while the former constantly felt the same.
“To fix Pakistan cricket, if I am given three years and handed the command, the children must be given confidence. ‘Saim, son, go play. Abhishek has a license, you also play. No problem, you won’t get dropped if you get out. Saim beta, the whole year is for you.’ I’ll see how performance doesn’t come. He is scared, poor boy. In a PSL game, it’s fine, runs happen. But you have to hit in a pressure game. Abhishek has a license, so he’s hitting it,” Akhtar added.
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