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Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria weighed in on the turmoil surrounding the Pakistan National Cricket Team following their disappointing performance in the T20 World Cup 2024. Kaneria suggested that the cricket board should appoint Fakhar Zaman as the captain and give him a squad of 20 players to work with over the next year.
Pakistan cricket has recently been marred by controversies and uncertainty, particularly concerning the team’s direction. The lack of a clear roadmap contributed to their early exit from the T20 World Cup 2024 during the group stage.
A significant issue plaguing Pakistan’s recent performances has been the instability in team management. Following the ICC World Cup 2023, Babar Azam was initially replaced as captain by Shaheen Afridi, only to be reinstated after a brief stint for Afridi. However, this decision failed to yield positive results, culminating in Pakistan’s disappointing campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024. They were eliminated after losses to the United States of America and India, prompting widespread criticism.
Kaneria stressed the importance of making the right leadership choices for Pakistan’s future success. He pointed out the ongoing captaincy dilemma and advocated for Fakhar Zaman to be entrusted with the captaincy, particularly as Pakistan prepares for potential qualification rounds in the T20 World Cup 2026. Speaking to Times Now, Kaneria elaborated on his viewpoint.
“Pakistan cricket, until and unless they don’t, don’t put a right selection and right people in the right place and right guys, now the captaincy issue. Why did they drop Shaheen Afridi after one series, brought back Babar Azam and took the captaincy?
“I think, in my opinion, they should get Fakhar Zaman as a captain for the Pakistan team for the white ball and just give them one year and have 20 guys in the pool and just play with them. And then think about, because now they have to play a qualifying round of 2026.”
Danish Kaneria expressed concerns about Pakistan’s selection process, emphasizing that their history as former world champions should guide them in navigating such challenges. However, he strongly criticized the current selection methods, stating that they are not conducive to the team’s improvement. Kaneria elaborated:
“So, Pakistan is a world, they are world champions. They have, they have their World Cup of 50, T20, everything is there. But procedure and the selection procedure is not going to help Pakistan cricket if they do like this.”
The future direction of the Pakistan team is uncertain regarding whether Babar Azam will continue as captain or not.
