• Home
  • Writers Opinion
  • Pakistan Cricket No Less Than A Circus And Mohsin Naqvis Volatile Tenure As Pcb Chief Is To Be Blamed

Pakistan cricket no less than a circus and Mohsin Naqvi's volatile tenure as PCB chief is to be blamed

Abhinav Tyagi

Mohsin Naqvi for Pakistan - (Source : AFP)Mohsin Naqvi for Pakistan - (Source : AFP)

Pakistan cricket is undergoing a lot of turmoil as the Men in Green are at an all-time low. It has been eight long years since Pakistan's 2017 Champions Trophy triumph, which was their last ICC title.

In recent years, Pakistan have made several changes, and the latest being Shaheen Afridi's re-appointment as ODI captain. It is Pakistan's third captaincy change in the past 12 months, and questions are often raised about the players ' performance.

3 captains changed in 12 months under Naqvi

It is normal for players to be under the scanner, but rarely does the PCB itself face the tough question of making so many changes and none of them delivering. Mohsin Naqvi continues to be PCB's chairman without any sword hanging over his head, despite a very volatile tenure. 

Notably, Naqvi was roped in as the PCB chairman in February 2024, and in just 1.5 years of his tenure as PCB chief, the 46-year-old has made several decisions that turned the course of Pakistan cricket, and this article will shed light on those incidents and why Naqvi needs to learn.

- Appointed Babar, removed Babar 

Mohsin Naqvi's tenure began in February 2024, and prior to that, Babar Azam had resigned as Pakistan captain because of the shambolic performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup. 

However, Mohsin Naqvi urged Azam to return to white-ball cricket and re-appointed the right-handed batter as Pakistan captain and told him to lead the side for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

However, after a disappointing performance in the World Cup as well, the board then pressured Azam to step down as white-ball captain. It replaced him with Shaheen Afridi in T20Is and Mohammad Rizwan in ODIs.

It was the first massive move by Naqvi in Pakistan cricket.

- Removed Shaheen, reappointed Shaheen 

As mentioned earlier, when Naqvi came into power, Shaheen Afridi was the T20I captain, but after four defeats out of five in the New Zealand series, the left-arm seamer was removed as the T20I captain without being given any long rope.

The decision was heavily criticised as Afridi was removed based on just one series.

However, in the latest events, the PCB has reverted to Shaheen Afridi for help and to revive Pakistan's sad state in T20I cricket. Rightly, raising the questions of a musical chair going on in Pakistan cricket. 

- Appointed Rizwan, removed Rizwan

Rizwan has also been a victim of PCB's unclear stance. He had succeeded Babar as the ODI skipper and also did well by defeating South Africa and Australia away from home, which is a massive feat for any captain.

However, after a disappointing Champions Trophy at home, PCB decided to sack Rizwan without any proper explanation and took a key decision two years ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup.

- Appointed Kirsten and Gillespie, forced Kirsten and Gillespie out 

In terms of coaching, the first decision taken under Naqvi's tenure was hiring Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie as white-ball and red-ball coaches. However, both coaches left the role without completing their tenures and also on a sour note with the PCB.

Jason Gillespie also went on to accuse the Mohsin Naqvi-led board of not involving them in key decisions, such as team selection and also accused the board of not paying their dues.

Notably, Kirsten left the role after just four months, while Gillespie quit the job in six months.

Besides these decisions revolving around players and coaches, the Naqvi-led board also made several decisions regarding domestic events.

- Appointed  Mentors, removed mentors and saga around Champions One-Day Cup

In August 2024, the PCB made a key change to their domestic structure and brought in five mentors Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Saqlain Mushtaq and Sarfaraz Ahmed for the newly invented Champions One-Day Cup.

It was a nice initiative, but soon PCB scrapped off the idea and removed all of the five mentors from the role. Not only that, but the newly inaugurated Champions one-Day cup was also scrapped off, leaving a big gap in the domestic structure for Pakistan. 

Why Naqvi's style is perfect recipe for disaster?

  • If we look at the history of all successful teams in the world, then they have a stability in the team. For Pakistan, it is totally opposite as frequent chopping and changes have not done good to any team in the past. Further, for Pakistan, even their successful tenure in world cricket saw players trusting the leadership of Imran Khan which saw them results.
  • However, in the present time, a Pakistan captain is getting removed every quarter and the players are failing to entrust a particular individual as their leader.
  • Also, it is not the end as there are reports that Salman Agha is also set to be sacked and there is a possibility of a new T20I captain just months ahead of 2026 T20 World Cup in February.