Former captain Shahid Afridi has raised concerns regarding the state of cricket in the country, claiming that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi told him he doesn’t know ‘anything about cricket’.
Pakistan cricket has been under scrutiny after Men in Green suffered an early exit in the Champions Trophy 2025.
Mohammad Rizwan-led side failed to make it to the semi-finals after defeats against New Zealand and India. Their last group-stage match against Bangladesh was washed out due to rain in Rawalpindi.
After their elimination, Aaqib Javed’s coaching to his selection calls for the tournament is being criticized. Pakistan went in with just one frontline spinner for the recently concluded ICC event.
Shahid Afridi has not taken a dig at PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, saying he should surround himself with people who know about cricket rather than bureaucrats.
“I met the chairman sahab a few days ago in Lahore. The initiative about the grounds, the work done at the Gadaffi stadium, is pretty good and pretty beautiful. He has worked, and he wants to work further,” said Shahid Afridi.
“But he also says that he doesn’t know anything about cricket. When you don’t know cricket then you should work with good, technical people who have some connection with the sport,” he added.
Pakistan Cricket has witnessed several changes in guards within the PCB. Several coaches have resigned and captaincy has passed from one player to another.
Afridi stated that PCB‘s lack of professions has led to decline in the performance of the senior side.
“The faces we are seeing in the selection committee and directors, they don’t know cricket, they have all been bureaucrats. What is their relation with cricket? Why are they sitting in the selection committee? Why are they running the domestic cricket system?” asked Afridi.
“Everyone’s seeing the Pakistan team. You should strengthen the domestic cricket structure. If the guardian is good, the child will automatically be good,” he added.
