Wasim Akram lashes out on PCB for its politics

Pakistan‘s dismal performance under Babar Azam‘s captaincy led to their failure to qualify for the Super 8 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The crushing defeat against the USA in the Super Over proved to be their downfall. While they also lost to India, the match against the underdogs USA team should have been a comfortable win for the Men in Green, but they ultimately succumbed in the Super Over.

The Pakistani team only managed two wins in their four league matches, finishing third in the points table. Following Pakistan’s early exit from the ICC event, pace legend Wasim Akram spoke publicly for the first time, sharing his perspective on the numerous changes occurring in Pakistani cricket.

Akram said to Sportskeeda, “Everyone makes fun of us. They controversially replaced Shaheen Afridi as captain, and then cycled through different PCB chairmen in rapid succession. First, they removed Ramiz Raja, before he even had a chance to fully settle into the role. He was quickly replaced by Najam Sethi, who only lasted around three months before being succeeded by Zaka Ashraf. After just four to five months, Mohsin Naqvi was then brought in as the new PCB chairman.”

“Babar was replaced by Shaheen Afridi. However, Afridi lost a series shortly after taking over, and the cricket board chairman was subsequently changed during this period. Babar was brought back.

“If the board truly believed in Afridi’s leadership potential, they should have given him at least a year to prove himself. Instead, they made the change without consulting the players,” he continued.

Notably, Babar Azam stepped down as Pakistan captain after the World Cup 2023. Meanwhile, Shan Masood was appointed as the new Test captain, while Shaheen Shah Afridi took over the T20I captaincy from Babar Azam.

After just one series, Shaheen was replaced as T20I captain, with Babar Azam returning to the role. Following Pakistan’s disappointing T20 World Cup campaign, Babar’s position as captain is now in jeopardy, potentially paving the way for Shaheen’s return to the leadership position. Meanwhile, Shan Masood remains the Test captain and is expected to lead the team in the upcoming home series against Bangladesh.

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