PCB set to hold “Connection Camp” to discuss Pakistan team’s future, captaincy changes

Lahore [Pakistan], September 7 (ANI): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is set to hold a “Connection Camp,” a meeting and workshop of the board’s top brass that will decide the future course of actions of Pakistan cricket, sources told Geo News.

The sources also informed Geo News that Pakistan white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten, red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie, senior cricketers, senior board officials, heads of high-performance centres, and international and domestic directors will attend the camp meeting presided over by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

The meeting is expected to take place on September 22. The sources said the red-ball and white-ball cricket coaches will hold a separate meeting among themselves.

Sources also informed Geo News that ideas will be exchanged regarding replacing captains of all formats of the games.

On Friday, sources told Geo News that wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan is the top contender to replace Babar Azam for the white ball captaincy. Test skipper Shan Masood’s captaincy will also be assessed.

The recent developments come after Pakistan hit rock bottom and dropped to eighth position in the latest ICC Test Rankings, their lowest since 1965.

It was the first instance when Pakistan tasted the sour flavour of defeat against Bangladesh in red-ball cricket. Bangladesh left Pakistan speechless on their home soil and wrapped up the series with a 2-0 whitewash.

Their latest slump marked their lowest ranking in the Test format, barring the period where they did not have a place in the rankings due to an insufficient number of matches.

After enduring yet another defeat, Pakistan will host England for a three-match Test series, which is a part of the ongoing International Cricket Council (ICC) World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. The first of the three Tests will begin on October 7 in Multan. The second Test will be played in Karachi, beginning on October 15, and the third red-ball clash is scheduled in Rawalpindi on October 24.