New Delhi: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi made a perplexing revelation, saying that the PCB relied upon artificial intelligence (AI) to select squads for the upcoming Champions Cup, a domestic tournament. Addressing media on Monday, Naqvi, who is dealing with criticism over Pakistan’s recent loss to Bangladesh in the first Test, insisted on the top players from the tournament to replace the non-performers in the national team.
The Bangladesh victory was historic as they defeated the Men in Green for the very first time. The loss was humiliating as fans and several retired cricketers slammed the PCB and Naqvi as well for failing to rebuild the team after a dismal ODI 2023 World Cup and the T20 World Cup 2024. The likes of Kamran Akmal and Ahmad Shahzad were critical of the board, highlighting the “surgery” (on cricket system) promises made by Naqvi.
He responded to all the comments saying that the board currently doesn’t have any “tool” for surgery as the selectors don’t have any pool from which the players can be selected. He added that with the Champions Cup initiative, the board will get a strong pool of players which might replace the non-performing stars of the national team, and thus getting a tool for the surgery.
AI used for squad selection – Naqvi
Naqvi went on to make a bizarre statement during the presser as he highlighted the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in selecting players for the Champions Cup. Owing to the domestic players not having any prior data, it made the selection policy difficult which caused the PCB to take “AI” the step.
He revealed that the up will have a pool of 150 players and the domestic event will make cricket strong. He further detailed the use of AI and humans in selecting those 150 players.
“These 150 players that have been selected, 80% of it has been done by AI, and 20% using humans. Nobody can challenge that. We gave about 20% weightage to our selection committee. If we replace a player with a worse one, you’ll be the first to complain. We’ll have records and we’ll all be able to see transparently who deserves a place in the team,” India Today quoted Naqvi as saying.
“The Champions Cup will end in September, and then there will be records for everyone. Anyone who isn’t performing will be immediately replaced. It shouldn’t come down to anyone’s individual opinions and wishes,” he added. Earlier on Monday, he announced the inclusion of Pakistan greats Misbah-ul-Haq, Saqlain Mushtaq, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik, and Waqar Younis as mentors for the five participating teams in the tournament.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi recently revealed that the squads for the upcoming Champions Cup have been selected using artificial intelligence (AI) in order to help the board in replacing non-performers in national team. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
