LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi has announced the formation of a “strike force” to revamp and improve the performance of the national team in the T20 format, sources said Geographic News on Sunday.
This specialist group will feature 50 talented, young and hard-hitting batsmen who will be selected purely on merit from across the country.
According to sources, former pacer Abdul Razzaq will oversee the selection process to ensure the inclusion of players with exceptional batting potential.
After selection, the raw talent will be trained to hit long sixes and fours.
The move is part of the PCB’s plans to inject young talent into the national T20 squad, a transition which sources say is expected to be completed within a year.
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan has consistently faced setbacks in the shortest format.
The Green Shirts played their first bilateral T20I series against Australia last month since their disastrous ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign.
The Mohammad Rizwan-led team, who secured a historic victory in the previous ODI series, could not put an end to their problems in the format as they suffered a 3-0 series defeat.
The Green Shirts then took part in a three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, where they won 2-1 and failed to stamp their authority after losing the final game.
The national team began their tour of South Africa with a three-match T20I series, won 2-0 by the hosts. The Green Shirts suffered defeats in the first two T20Is while the last game was abandoned due to rain.
Sohail Imran is a senior reporter at Geo News.
