The fallout from Pakistan’s disastrous 2026 T20 World Cup marketing campaign has reached a boiling level, with veteran opening batter Ahmed Shehzad launching a blistering critique of PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and the board’s present management. Following Pakistan’s incapability to achieve the semi-finals for the second consecutive event and a historic 1-2 sequence loss to Bangladesh, Shehzad argues that the nationwide staff has turn out to be a playground for a choose clique of underperforming stars.
Pakistan’s current stoop reached a brand new nadir in Dhaka, the place Bangladesh secured their first residence sequence win towards the guests in 11 years. The tour highlighted systemic failures: a batting collapse for 114 within the opening ODI and a botched 291-run chase within the decider. For Shehzad, these aren’t simply technical errors; they’re the signs of a poisonous star tradition nurtured by the PCB on the expense of nationwide pleasure.
Ahmed Shehzad takes goal at Mohsin Naqvi and PCB after Pakistan staff’s stoop
Shehzad’s major grievance lies within the disproportionate energy handed to a small group of gamers. He contends that the PCB has marketed sure people as world manufacturers via the Pakistan Tremendous League (PSL) over the past seven years, regardless of their failure to ship on the worldwide stage. In keeping with Shehzad, these 6-8 boys and their brokers have basically hijacked the staff’s choice and technique.
“You offered all of the sponsorships to these boys, endorsed them, and invested cash in them. You gave them captaincies within the PSL, proper? You made them the thumb of the Pakistan staff. You handed over your complete Pakistan cricket staff to these 6 boys and their brokers. And what have they carried out now? The fireplace they’ve lit within the jungle, the enjoyable and events they’ve had, the pockets they’ve crammed, the enjoyment they’ve had they haven’t given Pakistan any wins by doing so,” Shehzad remarked, pointing to the heavy monetary funding and sponsorships poured into these particular athletes.
He accused this core group of prioritizing private achieve and “events within the jungle” over trophies. The critique particularly stings as high-profile names like Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan proceed to battle with consistency, resulting in questions on whether or not the board is simply too terrified of its superstars to demand accountability.
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Shehzad calls out the failure of the Naqvi regime
Probably the most damning a part of Shehzad’s outburst centered on the perceived impotence of Naqvi’s administration. He described the present PCB because the weakest he has seen in his lifetime, alleging that the board kneels earlier than gamers as a substitute of imposing self-discipline or introducing contemporary expertise. This lack of institutional spine, he argues, has allowed a tradition of ego and blame video games to flourish throughout the dressing room.
Regardless of the mounting losses, Shehzad notes that not one of the senior gamers have taken accountability, opting as a substitute to spin narratives via media cycles.
“Everytime you discuss any participant, they begin spinning tales. I’ve by no means seen the Pakistan Cricket Board this weak in my life, as weak as this PCB is. They’ve energy, proper? However of their decision-making, they seem like kneeling earlier than their gamers. This PCB can’t do something. The work they have been purported to do — bringing in new faces — they didn’t. What they do is, after each occasion, they attempt to pull a brand new trick, however the public has now caught their sample,” he added, suggesting that the PCB’s behavior of pulling new tips after each event failure not fools the followers. By failing to combine new faces and breaking the monopoly of the present core, the board has left Pakistan cricket in a state of stagnation.
As Pakistan put together for a grueling three-Check sequence towards England beginning August 19, the stress on Mohsin Naqvi to implement main surgical procedure, a time period he himself coined earlier has by no means been larger.
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