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Former fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz has blamed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials for the team’s sorry state. According to him, Pakistan cricket is gone now because of all the PCB officials running the board.
Sarfraz Nawaz blames PCB officials for poor state of Pakistan cricket. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Legendary Pakistani fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz has blamed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and its officials for the poor state of Pakistan cricket at present times. According to the 76-year-old former cricketer, Pakistan cricket is gone now, and it is because of the bureaucrats who are running the cricket board. The 76-year-old bowling great says the PCB officials have no idea about cricket, and they’ve picked people who previously played Pakistan cricket.
“I watch closely, and on and off, I write to the PCB chairman (Mohsin Naqvi) because he doesn’t know much about cricket. I suggested things to him, but it’s up to him what he does. Pakistan cricket is gone now. I think it’s because of all the PCB officials running the board. They are non-cricketers; they are bureaucrats. That’s why I think they don’t know how to go about things like that. They’ve picked people who previously destroyed Pakistan cricket. And then there are frequent changes in the PCB. Within a year and a half, there were three chairmen and four captains. What else do you expect?” Nawaz was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz on Thursday.
The veteran of 55 Tests and 45 ODIs also shared his thoughts on the recently concluded India-Pakistan Champions Trophy 2025 match, which India won by 6 wickets.
“It was a one-sided game because the Pakistan team was not properly selected. They didn’t take spinners with them, and then there were two injuries (Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman). The team was unbalanced. Some players were selected because of backing from higher authorities. When the team was announced, I wrote to the chairman of the PCB, suggesting spinners like Sajid (Khan) and Noman (Ali), who had wrecked England earlier. They performed well against the West Indies too, but they were not picked at all.”
“Pakistan’s selection was very poor. If there is no proper selection and a proper team is not picked, the other team will always be far ahead of you. This was the main issue,” he added.
Nawaz, who was one of the greatest fast bowlers of his time, feels Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah are not the same bowlers since their return from injury.
“Since he (Shaheen) had an injury some time ago, he has not been the same bowler. His pace has dropped, and his line and length are not the same.”
“He’s (Naseem) been in the team for almost five years now. Since he had his shoulder injury, his speed has slowed down. Earlier, he used to bowl at 145, and now he bowls at 135-137, something like that. Then he bowls outside the off stump. He doesn’t bowl within the stumps all the time.”
