The PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has questioned the depth of the talent pool that Pakistan has in its domestic circuit by saying that the selection committee does not have enough resources to draw from and replace the underperforming players at the highest level.
Naqvi's comments have come in the aftermath of Pakistan's humiliating ten-wicket defeat in the Rawalpindi Test against Bangladesh. The defeat brought an end to Pakistan's undisputed supremacy over Bangladesh in the red-ball format.
Notably, Naqvi had famously said that the Pakistan's senior men's cricket team required surgery its group-stage exit at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and the Caribbean.
"The problem is the selection committee has no pool to turn to from which to select players," Naqvi was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. "I spoke of surgery because we need to fix our problems. But when we look at how to resolve them, we don't have any solid data or player pool which we can draw from. The whole system was a mess. The Champions Cup will produce great talent, and we'll have records for the games that happen. For surgery, you need all the tools to perform it."
In an attempt to add to Pakistan's domestic talent, Naqvi has decided to organize a one-day tournament named the Champions Cup which will run from September 12 to 29 in Faislabad. The tournament will witness the involvement of Waqar Younis, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq as mentors.
"This Cup will make domestic cricket strong, we'll have a pool of 150 players, and then the surgery we need to be done, the selection committee will do. People said 'do it all today, slit the throats of four-five players, and get rid of them'. You can't dump someone unless you have a better one to replace them.
"These 150 players that have been selected, 80% of it has been done by AI (Artificial intelligence), and 20% using humans. Nobody can challenge that. We gave about 20% weightage to our selection committee. If we replace a player with a worse one, you'll be the first to complain. We'll have records and we'll all be able to see transparently who deserves a place in the team."
"The Champions Cup will end in September, and then there will be records for everyone," the PCB chairman said. "Anyone who isn't performing will be immediately replaced. It shouldn't come down to anyone's individual opinions and wishes."
