The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made an unusual change in the post of manager with the appointment of a serving police officer to lead the team off the field as the manager of the national women’s cricket team, but this is on the back of a recent curfew breach.
Not too long ago, an incident occurred where at least two Pakistan women’s cricketers suffered serious injuries in a road accident. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said, “On April 28, some national women’s team members breached curfew and went out of the camp which was called for the white-ball home series against the West Indies”.
In a press conference, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said, “Five to six players of the national women’s team had gone out in the evening in Karachi without informing the team management during the camp between 2 April to 8 April, and we have already taken disciplinary actions against those players”.
Naqvi did not describe all the details of the incident or the seriousness of the injury, but, he only mentioned that Fatima Sana, who is one of the important players of the Pakistan women’s team, was injured, but he further said, “What players did was wrong and as a result, we have appointed a full-time senior rank security police officer to be with the team round the clock and enforce proper timings”.
The newly appointed team manager, Hina Munawar, was previously linked with the team as a strength and fitness coach. She recently joined the PCB women’s team as a security officer. But before reaching this height, she first cleared the Central Superior Services (CSS) exam and then joined the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) before joining the Pakistan women’s team at the management level. Her appointment to the managerial role of the Pakistan women’s cricket team has sparked debate in the cricketing world.
Many critics are saying that the fitness and performance of the team are being compromised for non-cricketing appointments and it will potentially affect the team’s preparedness and success on tour because fitness plays an essential role in cricket, impacting player performance and injury prevention, the removal of the fitness coach has raised concerns among fans.
The senior national team will next take the field in the Asia Cup scheduled from July 19, so all the cricketing experts as well as Pakistan’s cricket fans are eyeing how this administrative shuffle affects the team’s overall performance.
