PCB to form independent panel to act as conduit between players and management

NEW DELHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has approved the creation of a two-member independent committee to serve as a link between the national team players, management, and the board.
Following a full-day cricket connect conference on Monday, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi assured the formation of this committee. This meeting included the board's senior leadership and foreign coaches Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie.
Sources revealed that players had expressed concerns over difficulties in communicating with top PCB officials, particularly within the international and domestic cricket departments.
Captains Shan Masood and Babar Azam, supported by Muhammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Shadab Khan, highlighted their need for a “bridge” with the board. This would help prevent misunderstandings and allow players to convey their issues and grievances promptly.
It was decided that the independent two-member committee would aim to enhance communication between the players, management, and various PCB departments.
Pakistan remains one of the few Test-playing nations without an official players' association recognized by the board.
Players emphasized their need for a sense of security and clarity from selectors regarding issues such as captaincy.
Sources mentioned that Mohsin Naqvi assured players that no immediate changes would be made to the national team captaincy. He encouraged them to focus on their performances.
Naqvi also advised the team to build a more united and cohesive environment within the dressing room.
"He (Naqvi) basically told the players that whoever the board had as captains the players must support them and play as one regardless of the format," PTI quoted the source as saying.
PCB Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseer and the two foreign coaches later described the cricket connect session as productive and transparent.
"It provided us a forum to identifying issues and resolving them," Naseer said.
"The session was about openly and candidly accepting and identifying (issues) and ask for a commitment from each other... demand it on how we can improve our performances and how we work together as a team. Our unanimous view was that we need to resolve this going forward and need to identify how we do it."