{"id":1906,"date":"2026-09-04T08:37:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T08:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/09\/04\/pcb-chief-naqvi-defends-pakistan-cricket\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T08:37:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T08:37:20","slug":"pcb-chief-naqvi-defends-pakistan-cricket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/2026\/09\/04\/pcb-chief-naqvi-defends-pakistan-cricket\/","title":{"rendered":"PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi defends Pakistan cricket amid criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"9fece8afa224fd09e54b043d0febfb58\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:10px 0 10px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- NR ATF -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8898941184964366\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"4839033563\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi confronted mounting criticism of the national side in a press briefing in London, arguing that isolated defeats do not signal the end of cricket in the country. Naqvi highlighted recent setbacks for other major teams, including South Africa\u2019s loss to Namibia and India\u2019s surprise defeat to Ireland, to illustrate that even top\u2011ranked nations can suffer unexpected setbacks.<\/p>\n<h2>Pakistan&#8217;s recent Test setbacks<\/h2>\n<p>The immediate backdrop to Naqvi\u2019s remarks was Pakistan\u2019s disastrous two\u2011match performance in the opening phase of the three\u2011match Test series against England. The visitors suffered an innings\u2011and\u2011103\u2011run loss in the first Test and were then beaten by 194 runs in the second at Lord\u2019s, handing England an unassailable 2\u20110 lead. In response, the PCB announced a major overhaul of the touring squad, releasing seven senior players \u2013 Mohammad Rizwan, Imam\u2011ul\u2011Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad \u2013 ahead of the next Test in Birmingham and promoting several younger prospects.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the heavy defeats, Naqvi stressed that the broader trajectory of Pakistan cricket remains positive. He pointed to the team\u2019s rise in the One\u2011Day International (ODI) rankings from eighth to fifth place, and a current standing of sixth in the Twenty\u201120 International (T20I) rankings. Naqvi also cited an improvement in the side\u2019s success rate, which he said had climbed from 24\u202fpercent to 73\u202fpercent across recent ODI series, with four wins out of six series played.<\/p>\n<h2>Naqvi&#8217;s response and future plans<\/h2>\n<p>Addressing the notion that \u201cour cricket is finished,\u201d Naqvi rejected the idea outright, emphasizing that every match and series matters and that the board will bring in any player who can deliver. He warned against drawing conclusions from a few results, noting that rebuilding a side cannot be achieved in three to six months and that moving a team from a low ranking to the top requires a longer horizon.<\/p>\n<p>Naqvi also confronted the tone of some critics, stating that he is not afraid of criticism but questions the credibility of detractors who have not achieved notable success themselves. He said he regularly seeks input from former players and would take seriously any feedback from respected figures such as Wasim Akram. At the same time, he accused certain commentators of targeting him personally rather than focusing on systemic issues within Pakistan cricket.<\/p>\n<p>The chairman acknowledged that the PCB has made mistakes, particularly in selection. He accepted responsibility for occasional errors and noted that the board\u2019s recent selection decisions have come under additional scrutiny after notices were issued to selection committee members Aaqib Javed, Misbah\u2011ul\u2011Haq and Asad Shafiq concerning the recommendations of Rizwan and Imam\u2011ul\u2011Haq. Following the controversy, Misbah\u2011ul\u2011Haq resigned from the committee.<\/p>\n<p>Naqvi reiterated that the board will not allow the team to become demoralised and that decisive action will be taken if players fail to meet performance expectations. He affirmed that the PCB will continue to evaluate talent, make necessary changes, and support a rebuilding process that aligns with the longer\u2011term objectives of Pakistan cricket.<\/p>\n<p>In summary, Naqvi\u2019s message combined a defence of the current direction of Pakistan cricket, a reminder of recent ranking improvements, and a call for patience as the side works to recover from a challenging Test series. By referencing setbacks experienced by other leading cricket nations, he aimed to contextualise Pakistan\u2019s situation and to argue that the sport\u2019s health in the country cannot be judged on the basis of a few losses alone.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi rebuts critics, citing recent defeats, ranking improvements and a long\u2011term rebuilding plan for Pakistan cricket.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[299],"tags":[1929,1931,1817,535,1930],"class_list":["post-1906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-mohsin-naqvi","tag-odi-rankings","tag-pakistan-cricket","tag-pcb","tag-test-series-england","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsraise.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}