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While Ramiz Raja feels Gary Kirsten’s exit is a band news for Pakistan, he does have high hopes from their new white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan.
Gary Kirsten’s sudden exit did come as a surprise. (Getty Images)
Pakistan cricket team’s propensity to surprise and entertain, on and off the field, remains unmatched. In the world of Pakistan cricket, every new day is a chance at producing something bizarre. The recent chain of events that unfolded since their shocking defeat to Bangladesh at home until Gary Kirsten’s exit are no different.
Following a historic clean sweep in a two-match Test series at the hands of Bangladesh, Pakistan endured an innings defeat to England in the three-match series opener that followed. Their streak of defeats at home invited severe criticism. PCB responded by making changes in the selection panel which interestingly resulted in the entry of a former umpire into the fold.
The newly-appointed committee made some bold changes for the remaining two Tests against England. Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah were dropped and they switched to turning pitches on which the spin duo of Noman Ali and Sajid Khan engineered a 2-1 series win to shut down the outside noises. A turnaround?
Not so fast.
Soon, white-ball coach Kirsten resigned from his post with the development overshadowing Mohammad Rizwan’s appointment as Pakistan’s new limited-overs captain. Elsewhere, Fakhar Zaman, a Pakistan white-ball specialist batter, seemed to have irked and then punished for showing support to Babar on social media. He wasn’t offered a central contract and ignored for the Australia tour.
Former Pakistan Cricket Board chief (PCB) Ramiz Raja though says he isn’t aware of what went behind the scenes, he does acknowledge that they don’t paint a good picture.
Kirsten’s Exit
“It’s not great news because Pakistan needed an experienced hand in Gary. It’ll be mere speculation because I don’t have the inside news right now. But you know, from a distance, it doesn’t look great. Just before the start of a tour, you lose your coach who has really mastered what he’s done over the years,” Raja responded to a News18 CricketNext query during a select media interaction.
Following Kirsten’s resignation, PCB made a stop-gap arrangement by handing Jason Gillespie the responsibility to guide Rizwan’s team in Australia. However, the former Aussie quick, currently in charge of the Test team, has already notified his unwillingness to double-up as the white-ball coach beyond the Australia tour.
“It’s not a straightforward situation now because you see when the coaching staff or somebody like Gary Kirsten leaves the job, obviously, there will be hearsay, there will be speculations. People would want to find out why he left.
“It’s just not great. So, what you need to do is to make sure that once you involve somebody, engage somebody, then you’ve got to give them clarity regarding the role. And I don’t know whether that clarity was given to Gary Kristen or how he wanted to get Pakistan into this one-day phase, what he wanted to do and achieve.
“The kind of backlash that that you probably will get from Gary Kirsten’s resignation is not going to be an easy job,” he added.
A New Era Under Rizwan
The PCB, in a press conference, announced the appointment of Rizwan as Pakistan white-ball captain. Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi wished him all the luck while the wicketkeeper-batter hoped for better days ahead under his regime.
Raja feels that it would be a challenging task for Rizwan as he kickstarts his captaincy rein since he’s heading to Australia with a side relatively low on experience.
“Rizwan needed a bit of calm and quiet to start off his innings as a skipper and so he needs to have players that can win in the contest because every captain wants to start on a winning note. So, he’s been given a side which is a little low in experience and which doesn’t have the match winner in Fakhar Zaman,” Raja told CricketNext.
“Rizwan is the guy that you want in the team because he gives more than what his talent is. He’s a team player and a match-winner on the day.
“So, I think this could be an interesting little gig for Rizwan and for Pakistan because he has been a popular name being circulated in Pakistan’s captaincy leadership arrangement. And now that he’s got his chance, what he needs to do is stamp his authority and maybe get the place that he wants.
“Cricket is a sport where leadership does matter. You can’t run it from the sidelines like football. So, I just hope that Rizwan gets his playing 11 or squad that he feels comfortable with and that he gets off to a winning note. I absolutely like Rizwan. I know his personality and Pakistan needs such a character because he is larger-than-life character in the field and probably a great advertisement for Pakistan cricket,” he added.
Challenge Down Under
As Pakistan cricket enters a new era in white-ball cricket under Rizwan’s leadership, Raja hopes for a fresh start, free from controversies.
“We need a time of quiet and calm. It’s important for all the stakeholders to understand the value of a non-controversial start to what appears to be an extremely heavyweight calendar,” Raja said.
“Pakistan clearly were on a desperate mode against England. But thankfully, the series was won. I just hope that they carry this momentum forward even though it’s a different format.
“The players that were part of the winning dugout surely will help them to be competitive against Australia. But it’s a difficult terrain. Social media is ballooning out of control at times and so you are under pressure from all quarters.
“So, what you need to do is to somehow not have that clutter in the mind and have some clarity. And the clarity is to get on with the job, which is to be competitive against Australia and leave the controversies behind,” he added.
The Fakhar Drama
Zaman seems to have paid a heavy price for throwing his weight behind a teammate on a public platform after being dropped by the cricket board. Raja feels the Pakistan top-order should be disciplined when he’s representing the country and should abide by the cricket board’s policies.
“A cricket board runs by certain rules and regulations. Discipline is an important factor. Fakhar should have refrained from making such statements if he was frustrated. Unfortunately, you cannot be opinionated if you are playing cricket. Only your bat and ball could present an opinion. But having said that, taking such a rigid stance is completely unnecessary,” he said.
“I think, an organisation is a fatherly figure and players can commit mistakes and what Fakhar has done isn’t too big of a mistake. We have a massive white-ball season ahead where the board will have its eyes on new players.
“At the same time, they should speak to Fakhar and sort out the matter. He hasn’t committed a big mistake. He must think about his career. If the board wants an apology, he should abide by it, else he might face issues while getting NOCs to play overseas leagues,” he added.
