Training cancelled, media gag in place for Pakistan team: report

Two crushing defeats and reports of infighting have forced the Pakistan team to cancel their training session and put a gag on all media interaction, a source in the team revealed.

Pakistan suffered a 76-run loss to India in their World Cup opener before being humbled by the West Indies on Saturday in what was a day to forget for Misbah-ul-Haq’s side.

The team management, headed by coach Waqar Younis, has decided to take drastic steps in order to regain focus and get Pakistan’s World Cup campaign back on track.

A scheduled training session in Brisbane was cancelled today and the string of coaches held one-on-one meeting with players.

The move comes after Pakistan fielding coach, Grant Luden, had reportedly resigned over the ‘unprofessional’ attitude of several senior members of the team but later convinced by the team management to stay on. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was forced to issue a detailed press conference to deny the report but according to the source in the team, things were definitely not in good shape.

This development was followed by comments from former players who claimed captain Misbah had little say in the way things were being run and that Waqar Younis and chief selector Moin Khan, on tour with the team, were completely in charge.

To avoid further controversy, Pakistan will now be steering clear of the media and hold their training session away from the glare of the media, the source said.

“At the moment, all outings and media interactions have been put on hold for the next week, to get the players’ focus back on cricket.”

Pakistan take on Zimbabwe, coached by Dav Whatmore, on March 1, in Brisbane. The encounter will be a must-win game for the greenshirts and team manager Naveed Akram Cheema said the players were desperate to perform.

“It’s not true that the squad is divided into groups but the fact is that our execution hasn’t been up to the mark,” Cheema said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan advised the team to regroup and play attacking cricket if they were to have any hopes in the tournament.

“The first and foremost thing is that if we are to win our remaining matches and beat South Africa, the top order has to get runs. We need to play attacking cricket by strengthening the bowling and trying to take wickets. Containment will not work in this World Cup,” Khan said.