How Did the New Selection Committee Make the Rawalpindi Pitch Turn?

A few days after helping Pakistan level the test match series against England by choosing to reuse the surface in Multan, Aqib Javed seems to have worked his magic again, taming the wild Rawalpindi wicket.

The surface, notorious for producing the highest-scoring day’s play in test cricket history, looks to have changed its tone completely under Aqib’s instructions.

He had already claimed that the surface could be changed to suit Pakistani spinners.

The Rawalpindi test already carried intrigued with the series being tied one-all but even more eyes were on how the pitch would turn out.

The hosts had neutralized English batters as Pakistan finally broke the tradition of rolling out flat surfaces that suited the visiting teams under Aaqib’s first game in charge.

With England sitting at 110-5 after the first session and Noman Ali and Sajid Khan sharing the wickets between them, Aqib should be sitting pretty.

Pakistan has not won a test match in Rawalpindi since beating South Africa way back in 2021. The four subsequent contests have produced 1 draw and three losses for the hosts.

The match against Australia produced 1187 runs and only 14 wickets in total, then came England who smashed 506 on the first day with the match contributing 1768 runs in total and led to a demerit point for the stadium.

Bangladesh were up next winning their two games in Rawalpindi by 10 and 6 wickets respectively.

The cricketing sense seems to have returned under Aqib Javed who personally oversaw the preparations for the final test against England which seems to be paying dividends for Pakistani spinners. England also reinforced their team with plenty of spin options in anticipation.

With the use of patio heaters, industrial fans, and brushing the pitch extensively, the usually flat Rawalpindi pitch transformed into a minefield of sorts.

With the upper hand finally with Pakistan, the only question left to ask is what took them so long? Ramiz Raja, Najam Sethi, and Zaka Ashraf are all seasoned department heads. Tony Hemming is a renowned curator. Babar Azam, Shan Masood, and Mohammad Rizwan have all undertaken leadership duties so why did they all sit and watch as Pakistan cricket deteriorate in front of them?

PCB looks to have finally found their man in Aqib and if the Rawalpindi surface is any indication, the good old days may not be far behind.