PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi has hit back at the growing criticism of Pakistan cricket, pointing to India’s shock defeat to Ireland and South Africa’s loss to Namibia as examples of even top teams suffering unexpected results.
Pakistan have come under increasing pressure following their recent struggles on the England tour, where they suffered a heavy defeat after failing to put up much resistance. The PCB responded with a major shake-up, sending seven players home midway through the tour and making changes to the coaching staff. Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were among those shown the door.
While admitting that Pakistan cricket is going through a difficult phase, Naqvi defended the team and insisted that one or two poor results should not be seen as the end of Pakistan cricket.
“Let me ask you one thing: South Africa lost to Namibia, and India lost to Ireland. Has cricket ended there as well? Yes, one thing is important: whoever we need here, we will definitely bring in. If someone is not clicking or not performing, then what can we do? Every match and every series is important for us,” Naqvi said in a video that has gone viral on social media.
Naqvi also spoke about Salman Agha, who has struggled for runs in recent matches despite being considered an important player for Pakistan.
“Agha is such a brilliant player, and yet he is not clicking at the moment for certain reasons. We are not telling him, ‘We asked you to go and rest’; we spoke to him and did everything. So, the objective is not to remove someone from the team. The objective is that if a player is not clicking, then we should make a change,” he added.
Naqvi Defends His Tenure
The PCB chief also pushed back against criticism of his tenure and said Pakistan have made progress in the white-ball formats despite their recent struggles in Tests.
Naqvi acknowledged that the two Test defeats were disappointing but pointed to the team’s improved ODI and T20I rankings under the current coaching set-up.
“Yes, absolutely. What happened in the Test match cannot be termed wrong. We have lost these two matches, but I believe that, God willing, we will make progress in the coming days, just as we did in ODIs and T20Is,” Naqvi said.
“I have never been afraid of criticism, and I never will be. Those who say cricket has been destroyed since I came should look at where we were before we brought in our coaching team. We were eighth in the ODI rankings and are now fifth. In T20Is, we have moved up from ninth to sixth,” he added.
Naqvi’s comments come at a time when Pakistan cricket is facing questions over team selection, player form and the direction of its coaching set-up. With every upcoming series carrying added importance, the PCB will hope that the changes made in recent weeks translate into better results on the field.
