PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi terms changes amid England Test series 'essential'

LONDON: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday defended the decision of an overhaul during the national team's three-match away Test series against England, dismissing critics who he said had themselves achieved nothing.

Speaking exclusively to Geo News from London, Naqvi said the decisions taken in England were necessary, adding that beyond performance, there were other matters he was currently examining but that it was not the right time to discuss anything beyond cricket.

He said he deeply felt the pain of the national team's poor performance.

"I have never been afraid of criticism, and I never will be," Naqvi said, adding that criticism from those who had not achieved anything themselves made no difference to him.

Naqvi said if a great player like former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram spoke, he would take it seriously, but dismissed others who claimed he was not giving enough time to cricket, saying they simply did not know the facts.

He said those raising concerns about Pakistan cricket were not genuinely worried about the game — their real issue was with him personally.

Naqvi acknowledged that Pakistan's Test cricket performance had been very poor but said the team's white-ball form had improved during his tenure.

He noted that Pakistan currently ranked fifth in ICC ODI rankings and sixth in T20 rankings. "Those who say cricket has been destroyed since I came — look at what the rankings were before," he said.

He also said he would not tolerate the humiliation of players and that his confidence in them remained intact.

The Green Shirts, who entered the England series with a 1-1 draw away against West Indies, were blown away by the hosts in the opening fixture as they succumbed to an innings and 103-run defeat in Babar's absence.

In the subsequent fixture at Lord's, where they had not lost a single Test since 2010 and were on a two-match winning streak, Pakistan succumbed to an equally humbling defeat as the hosts prevailed by a massive 194 runs to clinch an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

The back-to-back crushing defeats drew severe criticism from cricket pundits, and the PCB eventually enforced an overhaul, releasing seven players, alongside head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul ahead of the third Test in Birmingham, slated to get underway next Wednesday.