Tour updates: All is not well in Pakistan’s dressing room

Camp atmosphere tense as Waqar threatens to step down, claims team official

KARACHI:

Situation in the Pakistan cricket team camp is reportedly grim as head coach Waqar Younis once again said in a team meeting that if the players do not want to work with the current management, it will step down.

Pressure on the team management is building as Pakistan have failed to improve under the Waqar-led panel in both limited-over formats and are currently placed in the lower-half of the rankings.

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Waqar and his staff, including spin-bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed and batting coach Grant Flower, are unhappy with the players’ inability to execute their strategies in the batting and bowling departments.

“Ever since Waqar and his staff took over in 2014, this is the third time the management has threatened to step down,” an official travelling with the team told The Express Tribune.

He added that the threat, coupled with the recent demoralising losses, has led to a tense atmosphere in the dressing room.



“There is a sense of betrayal and lack of trust between the management and the players,” revealed the official. “As things stand now, it seems difficult for Pakistan to maintain harmony in the dressing room with events such as the Asia Cup T20 and the World T20 knocking at the doors.

“Waqar strongly feels that some of the players are not playing for Pakistan, and are instead only concentrating on cementing their place in the national side.”

Pakistan have fallen to seventh place from second in the T20I standings after losing back-to-back series against England and New Zealand, while the ODI team is struggling as well.



While the Men in Green have been brilliant in the Test format with a settled unit, their lack of confidence in the shorter formats is painfully clear to all and has led to a divided dressing room.

Even the players have confirmed that the overall mood of the camp is tense despite Pakistan showing flashes of brilliance against the Kiwis in their ongoing tour of New Zealand. “The T20I series loss was heartbreaking for players and the management because we had a good start but failed to capitalise,” said a player on condition of anonymity. “Waqar and company feel that the bowlers did not bowl according to the plan and that several batsmen played for themselves.”



Meanwhile, former captain Rashid Latif said both the management and the players have failed to handle the pressure of expectations.

“I feel that the Pakistan Cricket Board must be demanding results from Waqar, and he in turn is venting his frustration on the players,” remarked Latif. “Effective man-management is really important, and I think Waqar is missing out on that aspect.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th,  2016.

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