Gillespie takes a dig at PCB Chief Naqvi
Jason Gillespie resigned as the national team's Test coach just days before the South Africa Test series last year. Photo: AFP/File
Former Pakistan red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie has once again taken a dig at Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi for absence from a crucial team-building session, known as the "Connection Camp."
Speaking on The Howie Games podcast, Gillespie recounted the efforts made by himself and white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten to attend the campinitiated by Kirstenonly to find a noticeable lack of engagement from the top PCB official.
"Gary came up with this great idea of a connection camp. Everyone in Pakistan cricket basically shared their experiences in that meeting. I flew in from Australia, Gary flew in from South Africa, the Chairman Mohsin Naqvi dialed in Zoom," said Gillespie.
"He is based in Lahore, but he did not come, while Gary came in from Africa. We both felt that the Chairman could not even drive 20 minutes to come here - that was a bit unusual." he added.
The Pakistan Cricket Board held the camp on September 23, 2024, with the aim of improving communication, collaboration, and performance among the national team.
The session featured eight senior players, including Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan, and Shan Masood.
PCB Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseer had described the camp as a timely initiative ahead of a packed cricketing calendar, with its primary objective being the development of a unified vision and mission for the national team.
It is pertinent to mention that the former Australian pacer resigned as the national team's Test coach just days before the South Africa Test series last year.
Bowlers surge in rankings
Pakistan bowlers have made significant gains in the latest ICC T20I rankings, thanks to their impressive performances in recent international fixtures.
In the bowling rankings, Pakistan pacers Haris Rauf and Abbas Afridi have surged forward, both occupying the joint 18th position with 605 rating points.
Left-arm speedster Shaheen Afridi has also moved up, now holding the 35th spot with 552 points.
Pakistan's T20I vice-captain Shadab Khan climbed to 58th place in the rankings, alongside spinner Abrar Ahmed, both earning 476 points.
However, young bowlers Naseem Shah and Sufiyan Muqeem have slipped in the standings, now placed at 92nd and 95th positions with 407 and 406 points, respectively.
New Zealand's Jacob Duffy currently leads the T20I bowling charts, while England's Adil Rashid has claimed the second spot, pushing India's Varun Chakaravarthy down to third.
In the T20I batting rankings, Pakistan's star duo Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have retained their 12th and 13th positions, respectively. Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris also holds firm at the 30th spot.
However, emerging middle-order batter Hasan Nawaz has slipped to 46th place, while Saim Ayub has dropped to 62nd.
Pakistan T20I captain (name omitted in original text) has fallen two spots to 76th with 430 rating points, and Fakhar Zaman has slipped one place to 87th.
Australia's Travis Head continues to dominate the T20I batting rankings, followed by India's Abhishek Sharma in second. England's Phil Salt has dropped to fourth place, as young Indian batter Tilak Varma rises to third.
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