Pakistan Vs Bangladesh 2nd Test: PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi Helpless, Admits ‘There Is No Pool To Turn To’ After 10-Wicket Loss In First Test

The Pakistan cricket team succumbed to an embarrassing 10-wicket loss to Bangladesh in the first Test of the two-match series in Rawalpindi on Sunday (August 25). It was Bangladesh’s first-ever Test win over Pakistan in history and means that the home side have slipped to near the bottom of the ICC World Test Championships (WTC) table with just 16 points.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi admitted to his helplessness, claiming there was ‘no pool to turn to’ to replace the out of form players in the Shan Masood-led Test side.
“It was a very disappointing loss,” Naqvi told reporters on Monday. “The problem is the selection committee has no pool to turn to for high-quality replacement players”.
 

“I don’t have a magic stick.” – Chairman Mohsin Naqvi
: PCB#PakistanCricket | #Cricket pic.twitter.com/pqFMzwN9qJ
— PakPassion.net (@PakPassion) August 26, 2024

Pakistan have been searching for a Test win at home since their last victory over South Africa at Rawalpindi in December 2021. The first-Test loss was their fifth at home in that span, which also includes four draws.
The PCB boss had spoken about conducting a ‘big overhaul’ after Pakistan was eliminated from the Super Eight stage at the T20 World Cup 2024, losing to arch-rival India and the tournament co-host United States team.
“We want to fix our problems. But when we look at how to resolve them, we don’t have any solid data or (elite) players pool which we can draw from,” Naqvi said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board are planning to use Artificial Intelligent (AI) to help harness a pool of backup players from the newly announced 50-over tournament – Champions Cup – scheduled to be held from September 12 to 29.
Pakistan cricket legends Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq, Misbah-ul-haq, Shoaib Malik and Sarfaraz Ahmed will work as mentors of the five teams in the Champions Cup. “This Cup will make domestic cricket strong, we’ll have a pool of 150 players, and then the surgery will be done by the selection committee,” Naqvi said.
“But you can’t dump someone unless you have a better one to replace them.”
Pakistan shocked everyone by going into the first Test without a specialist spinner in their playing 11 against Bangladesh but its ploy to go with four pace bowlers backfired. Bangladesh took a solid 117-run first-innings lead after it scored 565 in reply to Pakistan’s 448-6 declared.
“Losing to Bangladesh is sad but the selection committee had given the team 17 players. If the coach or captain aren’t playing some of them, that’s their decision. The team management may have made a mistake, but that has nothing to do with the selection committee,” the PCB chairman said.
The 2nd Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh will begin in Rawalpindi on Friday (August 30).