KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been given clear instructions by its patron-in-chief to restore the image of the national team following a spate of disastrous results in the ongoing World Cup in England and Wales.

According to reliable sources, Prime Minister Imran Khan, who skippered Pakistan to their solitary World Cup title in 1992, in his capacity as patron-in-chief of the PCB wants wholesale changes in the team management and the national selection committee in the post-World Cup scenario.

The topmost agenda to be taken up once the national side returns home is to decide the immediate futures of both chairman of the selection committee Inzamam-ul-Haq and head coach Mickey Arthur, who were both appointed in their current positions before Pakistan embarked on the tour of England in 2016.

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Insiders confided to Dawn on Saturday that former Pakistan batsman Mohsin Khan — who quit as head of the almost non-functioning PCB cricket committee in midweek — is being strongly tipped to either become chairman of the national selection committee or the head coach.

Inzamam, Arthur likely to be shown the door

Mohsin, now 64, has in the past held both portfolios. He served as the chief selector from March 2010 before being appointed as an interim head coach in October 2011. Under his charge Pakistan completed a historic 3-0 Test sweep of England in the United Arab Emirates in early 2012.

The PCB regime, then headed by Zaka Ashraf, in the meantime had formed a committee in search of a certified coach and ultimately brought in ex-Australia batsman Dav Whatmore — who had previously coached Sri Lanka, including their 1996 World Cup triumph, in two spells before taking over charge of the Bangladesh team from 2003 to 2007 — for a two-year term.

“The announcement to this effect will be soon made once the patron-in-chief officially approves the appointment,” the sources revealed. “The Prime Minister is a longtime admirer of Mohsin since the days they were team-mates in the 1980s and strongly believes that he is the right person to resurrect the tarnished image of Pakistan cricket given his patriotic nature.”

The sources, meanwhile, said the PM has taken serious notice of the alleged grouping and infighting in the team with some players showing total disregard for Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed for reasons best known to them.

The sources said the premier is in no mood to tolerate the bossy attitude of Inzamam who is reportedly interfering in team selection during the World Cup matches.

“What business Inzamam has to be there [in the UK] in the first place? Social media has highlighted his unjustifiable presence during Pakistan squad’s training sessions,” the sources said. “Have we seen any other chairman of selectors traveling with the team or meddling in the affairs of their respective national sides in the World Cup? The answer is no. Inzamam has obviously imposed himself on the Pakistan team by undermining the status of the captain.

“We all know that Sarfraz comes from a humble background and is finding the going extremely challenging in the current scenario because he’s being not allowed to do things like a captain should. The video clippings aired on social media during in between the match are enough proof of him being downcast and feeling unwanted.

“Judging by the comments of former players it seems everyone wants Sarfraz to be sidelined because some of the agitating players are aspiring to lead Pakistan, and one of them is the mastermind of this anti-Sarfraz lobby within the ranks. When Sarfraz [along with several key players] was rested for the Australia ODI series in the UAE, that same player in connivance with Arthur and Inzamam had already decided on the makeup of the squad for the World Cup.

“But they couldn’t do anything to dislodge Sarfraz from his position because it is the prerogative of the PCB chairman to name the captain. In other words, the squad [for the World Cup] was inconspicuously finalised during that ODI series against Australia and the announcement was just a formality. The fact is that Inzamam is so powerful that even members of the selection committee [Tauseef Ahmed, Wajahatullah Wasti and Wasim Haider] never dare to question his authority,” the sources added.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2019