RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — A lack of quality backup is eroding the strength of the national team, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi said in the wake of the embarrassing 10-wicket loss to Bangladesh in the first test.
“It was a very disappointing loss,” Naqvi said Monday, a day after Bangladesh’s historic maiden test win against Pakistan in 14 test matches at Rawalpindi.
“The problem is the selection committee has no pool to turn to” for high-quality replacement players, he said.
Pakistan has been searching for a test win at home since its last victory over South Africa at Rawalpindi in December 2021. The first-test loss was its fifth at home in that span, which also includes four draws.
Naqvi had spoken about conducting a big overhaul after Pakistan was eliminated from the Super Eight at the T20 World Cup, losing to archrival India and the tournament co-host United States team.
“We want to fix our problems,” Naqvi said, “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.”