Afridi sets sights on improving Pakistan's bench strength before his tenure ends

Following the ouster of Ramiz Raja as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief, Shahid Afridi was made the interim chairman of a committee that includes Abdul Razzaq and Rao Iftikhar Anjum, with Haroon Rashid. Afridi has said that he wants to develop Pakistan's bench strength in such a way that they are able to field two teams at the same time.

“I want to create two teams for Pakistan before my tenure ends in order to improve bench strength,” Afridi told the media. 

Afridi's statement came following Pakistan's poor show in home Tests in 2022 where they failed to win any of the seven games. The injuries to key fast bowlers like Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf also dented Pakistan's chances further, especially in the previous series against England and the first Test against New Zealand.

While defending Babar Azam's decision to declare and set New Zealand 138 to win with a potential 15 overs left, Afridi also said that he wishes to establish a direct line of communication between the players and the selectors.

The Blackcaps seemed to be on course after they put up 61 in just 7.3 overs, but bad lights perhaps saved Pakistan in the end.

“Babar Azam is the backbone of the Pakistan team and we will back him. His decision about declaration was a good one,” he said. 

“I feel like there was a lack of communication in the past. I got to know about the issues of players by speaking to them individually. I directly spoke to Haris [Sohail] and Fakhar [Zaman].

"I believe there should be a direct line of communication between the players and the selection committee.”