Following a 194-run defeat at Lord\u2019s that has left Pakistan trailing 2-0 in the three-match series, the side dropped seven players - Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Agha, Ali Usman, Aamer Jamal, Awais Zafar, and Khurram Shahzad - and relieved red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul of their duties.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In their place, five uncapped players - Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Saad Baig, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, and Razaullah - have been called up alongside Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal. White-ball head coach Mike Hesson and bowling coach Ashley Noffke have stepped in to take charge of the Test side for the game at Edgbaston, starting on September 9.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Asked whether this is an unprecedented point Pakistan has reached as a men's team, Atiq-uz-Zaman agreed unreservedly. \u201cI think if I disagree with this conversation, I will be the most biased person on the planet. I think even people who don't have an understanding of international cricket, or they have not played in it, but they play some sort of cricket, and they watch cricket, they all agree with what everybody is saying,\u201d Atiq-uz-Zaman told IANS in an exclusive conversation from England.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThey all disagree with the decision Pakistan Cricket Board has made. I think it's an unbelievable, ignorant decision by anybody. Performance is not okay. We can understand that Pakistan's performance is really, really below average - very poor, I would say.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBut I have never witnessed these kinds of incidents before in my whole cricket career - that team has been changed during the series and the coach has been sent home just for a reason, because he did not listen to somebody's advice. It's unbelievable,\u201d he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He then directed his sharpest criticism at Javed, alleging that he\u2019s operating without structured processes and deliberately managing public expectations down to mask administrative failures. \u201cI think the Pakistan Cricket Board has become a one-man show now. I think it's Aaqib Javed versus whole Pakistan now. So, he is making all decisions by himself. He watches a dream and then he tries to execute his dream the next day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThere is no process because the problem with Asian countries, especially in Pakistan is if you try to build a process, you lose the power and you don't want to lose the power. You don't want to give authority to other people or you don't want people to grow. You want people to be dictated by you. So, this is kind of a culture he brought in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI don't understand one thing \u2013 Pakistan, before they went to the West Indies, they had a two-month camp. They were working hard - like about 20-odd players were together. So, it's been selected by the same people - Aaqib Javed, Sarfaraz, Asad Shafiq and Misbah-ul-Haq. So, you selected the same team. They didn't perform much in the West Indies, but they won a Test match there, luckily.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBut they didn't perform well in England. Before they even went to West Indies, Aaqib Javed had told the media, \u2018If Pakistan win one Test match out of four, it will be a really, really good achievement.\u2019 So, they try to lower the expectation of the public on purpose and people will know that, \u2018Oh, Pakistan will win. It should be okay.\u2019 So, they try to brainwash people in that sense,\u201d he elaborated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Atiq-uz-Zaman, who played a Test and three ODIs for Pakistan, and served as fielding-cum-wicketkeeping coach at its High Performance Centre, further said team selection is being driven by political favouritism rather than genuine talent in the men\u2019s side.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cEven before they went to England, everybody must know that Pakistan team's bowling attack was really, really average. If they have a seaming track, then Muhammad Abbas or Mohammad Ali will be a little bit effective. Apart from that, if they haven't got a pacey bowler, like we used to have Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, and Mohammad Sami, they will not trouble England because they are very advanced in Test cricket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cEngland, India, South Africa, Australia, they are four prime teams - even New Zealand. Pakistan cannot touch them because they haven\u2019t got those kind of players. They don't select them and we don't have fast bowlers. It's not true to say that we don't have quick fast bowlers in Pakistan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe do have quick fast bowlers who can bowl 90 miles an hour. But they don't get selected because of some people who just want to bring those people, who just say to them, \u2018Oh, thank you, sir. How are you, sir?\u2019 They will go to your office and say Salaam to you and all. They will be good in front of that person and then they will be selected,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On the lack of sympathy for coaches and players sent home, Atiq-uz-Zaman pointed to a broader cultural issue. \u201cPakistani culture is always like that. It's always a dictatorial culture. Since we have got 1992 heroes - so-called heroes who won the World Cup, they have been involved in Pakistan cricket for decades and decades and decades and they are the ones who are ruining Pakistan cricket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSo, we need to get rid of those people. We need to bring the new mindset with full empathy and respect for the players. If you select one team, you back them up for the whole series.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cAfter that, okay, there will be accountability. If you don't perform - thank you very much, you did not do well. We give you objective feedback on how you can improve and come back to the team and nothing else. You drop them now, you will never see these players again because they will never be picked again,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Turning to Test captain Babar Azam, Atiq-uz-Zaman expressed little sympathy for him, claiming the star batter lacked self-respect by accepting the leadership role in an unstable environment. \u201cWell, it's his own choice to take the captaincy. If I have self-respect, Babar Azam has self-respect for himself. He would never have chosen to be a captain because he was dropped once and then he came back again and was dropped again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cNow he has come back again and took over a team which is not ready to compete in Test cricket, where the selection committee and coaching staff are not reliable. So, he put himself into trouble. I don't feel sorry for Babar Azam because I feel very upset about it \u2013 more so because he shouldn't have taken the captaincy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cOr if he had taken the captaincy, he should have stood up and said, \u2018Okay, if you are sending my coach back, if you are sending my player back, I resign from the captaincy as well.\u2019 But he didn't. Everybody likes power in Pakistan.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Asked whether Pakistan cricket can recover in the foreseeable future, Atiq-uz-Zaman was skeptical about any quick turnaround. \u201cI don't think so. In the near future, Pakistan will never recover from this because the damage is so big. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI think the most important thing for the PCB or the chairman to do is bring the quality, skilled, educated people around the National High Performance Centre and Pakistan Cricket Board who can take care of cricketing matters without any politics and even injustice. So, you need to bring those kind of people. Unfortunately, those people do not exist in Pakistan. Some are there, but you will never bring them because few will try to kick them out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He cited former PCB CEO Wasim Khan's tenure as an example of how proper administrative processes were there before being dismantled. \u201cI recall in 2020 when Wasim Khan took charge as PCB CEO. He was the right person for the job. I'm not just saying that because he hired me as a High-Performance coach, but because he brought in top-quality, qualified staff across key positions, and a real process was being built.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI think the most important thing for the PCB or the chairman to do is bring the quality, skilled, educated people around the National High Performance Centre and Pakistan Cricket Board who can take care of cricketing matters without any politics and even injustice. So, you need to bring those kind of people. Unfortunately, those people do not exist in Pakistan. Some are there, but you will never bring them because few will try to kick them out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThen Ramiz Raja came in, made it a one-man show, and undid that work. I am telling you, all 1992 players are dictators because many lack modern coaching qualifications or broader sports education. They have been living off that 1992 World Cup victory for over 30 years, and in the process, they are destroying our cricket,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\r\n\r\n