In the midst of a poor Asia Cup 2025 campaign, former Pakistani cricket player Shoaib Akhtar made no secret of the depressing situation of Pakistani cricket. Akhtar addressed a number of topics in a detailed manner without holding back.
Shoaib Akhtar began by disparaging the “uninspiring” Salman Ali Agha, publicly acknowledging that he was unworthy of being on the squad, much less captaining it. Additionally, he drew attention to head coach Mike Hesson’s preference for “half-baked all-rounders” over legitimate fast bowlers and batsmen.
“When Salman Agha, the captain, isn’t motivating, where will the attitude come from? What can the captain do to motivate the team when he doesn’t deserve his spot? The decisions made by the cricket board are reflected in the skipper. The coaches are reflected in the performances of the Pakistani team.
Mike Hesson, the coach you brought in, is unwilling to hear anything. We have died here (on channels) begging him to play Hasan Nawaz as a batter and one more fast bowler bhai (brother). However, the coach declines, preferring to use mediocre all-around players. On ARY News, Shoaib Akhtar said, “They can’t win you the matches in crucial situations.”
Shoaib Akhtar also blasted the team’s management for being “insecure” about developing real potential and turning them into major players. He emphasised the degree of contrast between the management of Pakistan and that of India.
Agha’s place on the team was unjustified, Shoaib Akhtar reaffirmed.
You have options if Haris Rauf isn’t performing, but you haven’t used them. Work won’t get done when management is insecure because they won’t let important people advance. Why aren’t Indians comfortable creating heroes? Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, and Abhishek Sharma are all heroes. In this case, the management must be safe. Headless chicken management that makes no sense. They weren’t willing to listen to us (former players chatting on channels), the team combinations weren’t correct, and the captaincy wasn’t ideal. The captain’s position in the middle order and as a spinner, in my opinion, is not justified,” he continued.
Additionally, the 50-year-old criticised the PCB for preferring “timid, mediocre players” than “strong personalities.”
Shoaib Akhtar vehemently disagreed with the PCB’s policies, calling them pointless.
We used to love tearaway quick bowlers back in the day. Unusual talents were formerly appreciated and celebrated. However, it appears that we now prefer timid, average players. Jo aath baje curfew lagaake ghar pe baith jaaye (who would sit inside their rooms after the 8 pm curfew), hume ab shareef bacche chahiye (we now want obedient kids). jaise bechaare, lallu-kattu chahiye (the cricket board wants these kinds of naive and innocent kids). Strong personalities are not what they seek. This is how the PCB’s policies are reflected,” Shoaib Akhtar said.
The former express pacer disclosed his true motivation for never joining the PCB’s leadership. Because they didn’t want strong personalities, he blamed them for the decline in decision-making.
“As soon as I retired, I made the decision that I would never work for the PCB since everyone who has gone there has never been treated with dignity. I sit, take money, and work in television. Strong personalities are not what these guys are looking for. Although Mohsin Naqvi is likely intelligent, he heeds their counsel. Take a look at the team he assembled using their recommendations,” Shoaib Akhtar said.
Shoaib Akhtar believed that the elimination of departmental and divisional cricket was more detrimental to Pakistani cricket than beneficial. He even revealed a unique proposal he made to the PCB president for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) redesign.
“India has made investments in the Ranji Trophy; players earn one lakh rupees a day and get better at what they do.” We have eliminated departmental and divisional cricket. That no longer provides the steadiness that it once did. If you centralise everything and say things like, “I am the boss and I won’t share power, so where will talent come from?” and “maine power-sharing nahi karni, toh talent kaha se aayega?” I had submitted a suggestion as well.
PSL 2.0 kar le (let’s construct PSL 2.0), establish eight new areas, establish seven or eight new teams, build a player pool of 15,000, and make local investments. I am not referring to the current PSL; rather, I am referring to PSL 2.0, which begins at a lower and junior grassroots level. Where will the children grow up if you don’t make investments at the younger level? “My proposal was well received by Mohsin sahab (sir); I hope he will put it into effect,” he said.
He even contrasted the routes used by players in India and Pakistan to get into the international stage. He even revealed the actual cause of his belief that Shaeen Shah Afridi lacks bowling accuracy.
In contrast, India made grassroots investments in a younger generation. They’ve all made money through the system. The IPL is retained for entertainment purposes. Their players are part of a grassroots system. They won’t let a batter in if they don’t bowl 2000 balls in a season or score 4000 runs in domestic cricket. Including nets, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, and I used to bowl 1500–2000 balls a season. Because he hasn’t bowled many balls, Shaheen Shah Afridi lacks precision. “What can you anticipate from him?” Shoaib Akhtar asked.
As he concluded his tirade, Shoaib Akhtar urged Naqvi to alter the arrangement by improving the PCB’s selection procedures, player development, and Pakistani cricket as a whole.
Thus, all of these activities will go on. In the future, Mohsin Naqvi, Najeem Sethi, or another official in charge will be there. Thus, koi aur sahab aa jayenge. Unless you bring in a visionary, educated man, the system will continue to function (Nizaam chalta rahega, hoga kuch nahi). Naqvi still has an opportunity to fix the system. Do it; they have the funds and the chance. He said, “History will remember that you initiated this.”
India
