Former Pakistan Test cricketer Atiq-uz-Zaman recently criticized the national white-ball men’s head coach Gary Kirsten over his remarks in his report to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Kirsten reportedly wrote a confidential report to the PCB, which got leaked in the media, in which he highlighted the issues that contributed to Pakistan’s disastrous performance during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
The former champions failed to advance to the Super Eights stage, mainly due to their upset defeat against co-host United States of America (USA) in the campaign opener, followed by a gut-wrenching defeat against arch-rivals India.
Kirsten’s report highlighted the Pakistan cricket team’s disciplinary and fitness issues. However, Atiq-uz-Zaman did not mince his words in slamming Kirsten over complaining to the PCB, rather than solving the issues.
“Gary Kirsten came in and started complaining already. If you had the leadership skills, why are you complaining to the board about it? You should have resolved it while you were there. So, fingers crossed, I hope they do well, but I don’t see things getting fixed quickly,” Atiq said.
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Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt also voiced a similar opinion yesterday, that management should be taking action not complaining.
During an appearance at ARY News’ show Sports Room, Butt was asked whether the authorities would take any action against Shaheen Afridi for his alleged misconduct.
The former captain, in response, emphasized that the management should have taken action straightaway but instead, they kept on selecting Shaheen Afridi for every World Cup fixture.
“If he was not disciplined then they should have dropped him and opted to go with some other player,” Butt stated.
“But, if you gave him full opportunity despite all these issues and are now complaining I think, anybody can do that. What’s the point of appointing [big names] with hefty salaries?” Salman Butt questioned.
“Management’s job is not to complain but to take action,” he concluded.