LAHORE: The Connection Camp, conducted at a nearby hotel here on Monday, included topics such as enhancing the national team’s cohesiveness and bolstering its communication with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
A few members of the national squad, as well as the board’s higher executives and head coaches of the respective Test and white-ball teams, Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten, attended the event, which was organized by the PCB with the goal of “developing a clear and unanimous vision for the future of Pakistan cricket.”
Salman Naseer, the chief operating officer of the PCB, acknowledged that grouping was on the agenda during the Connection Camp, following claims of grouping within the team’s dressing room amid Pakistan’s recent decline in the sport.
Salman stated in a news conference held following the event, “It was an open and transparent session, during which we got to talk to each other with utmost honesty and discussed unity, collaboration, and how we can improve our communication.”
“Today’s session was held in this regard as well, so that we can identify, accept, and ask for commitment from each other in an open, sincere, and candid manner. We also need to make demands so that we can improve our performance, and since this is a team sport, we need to work as a team.”
Salman admitted that the board’s management hadn’t been able to keep things under control and that it wasn’t just the players who weren’t performing well on the field.
Accordingly, he said that the Connection Camp was the ideal approach to maximize the availability of the stakeholders to hold talks and determine a course of action.
Salman stated, “We had a busy schedule, so it was a good idea to get together and talk about things.” We brainstormed about three or four key topics, and I believe it was necessary given that everyone is aware that both management and players can perform better.
“An additional concept [underlying the Connection Camp] was that we should meet together and discuss problems, areas that could use improvement, as well as our vision and the steps that need to be taken to realize it.
We so created a road map outlining the measures required to succeed and how we might rekindle our excellence.
In all three formats, Pakistan has suffered losses in the last year against teams like Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Ireland, and the United States. The PCB had nowhere to run once the side’s performance graph dipped, and the body’s only choice was to concede that an overhaul was necessary.
“We all agreed that we wanted the Pakistan team to be as successful as it can be, and it was a fantastic time to be a part of this session. I think the intention was to align our premises for the team,” Kirsten added. And we experienced something today that can be beneficial. In my opinion, we have accomplished a good deal today in terms of our abilities.
We talked about some pretty crucial pledges from the players and the squad on their level of professionalism, in my opinion.
“And I believe the commitment around it is to make sure that the players represent the country as best they can and to restore pride in Pakistani cricket.”
Kirsten reported that he had been following the Champions One-day Cup, which is currently taking place. He thought that excellent cricket was being played in the competition, and the players taking part in it appeared to have a wealth of skill in Pakistan.
Test coach Gillespie was evasive when asked if the Pakistani players were lacking confidence or experiencing any fitness issues.
The former Australian pacer remarked, “The players are proud to be representing Pakistan and they looked desperate to do well for the country in the session.”
Pakistan’s white-ball captain Babar Azam, red-ball captain Shan Masood, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi were among the players who attended the Connection Camp.
Participating in the event were high-performance expert David Reid and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood of the team, which was chaired by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
