There is no player-power, Pakistan team is united: Najam Sethi

Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee, Najam Sethi, has praised the unity of the Pakistan players and rejected rumors of player-power within the team.

In an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, Sethi addressed rumors of player-power in the national team, saying that he was not aware of any such things when he took over his position a few months ago.

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"When I took over the responsibility just a few months ago, I have no idea about power players. If there were any such things before, I was not aware of them. However, I believe that there is no issue with power players, and it is good for the team to be united. Rumorslike power players are not true," he said.

Regarding questions about uncertainty over Babar Azam's captaincy, he said, "This is all from the media's side. There are two types of opinions. One is that Babar should not be captain in all three formats.," said Sethi.

"It would be appropriate to assign responsibilities to 2 or 3 captains, selectors also had a similar opinion. The first and second selection committees of our era also discussed this issue. It was also discussed who should be the second captain if there are two captains. One opinion was to keep Babar Azam as captain. The final decision was made to continue with the current system and maintain the current process," he added.

The 74-year-old also consulted Mickey Arthur, who currently opposes any changes, and stated that they will assess Babar Azam's performance.

"I also consulted Mickey Arthur, who also currently opposes any changes and said that we will see how things go in the future. Arthur, coaches, selectors, and the media will assess Babar's performance as captain and batsman. If the team continues to achieve victories in matches, then who can remove them from their position? In that case, they also have the right to stay in their current role," he said.

The chairman has defended Babar's captaincy, stating that it is premature to discuss changes and that Babar is the best choice for captaincy in two formats.

"I think it is premature to talk about leadership now. In the recent series against New Zealand, Babar is the best choice for captaincy in two formats. We will see what the selectors, coaches, and Arthur think in the future. It is also important to know Babar's own stance on the matter. He also our star batsmen," he said.

When asked if Babar expressed concern about his captaincy in media reports during a meeting, Najam Sethi said, "it did not happen at all. I have had 1-2 meetings with them, and we exchanged greetings recently. They are very trustworthy, and I assured them not to worry and focus on their game while leading the team forward," he concluded.