Pakistan’s interior minister and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi and head coach Mike Hesson (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed) The recurring pattern of Pakistan cricket followed by disappointment and backlash resurfaced after another stunning run. The early exit from the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Super Eight stage was followed by a 1-2 ODI series loss in Bangladesh, drawing sharp criticism from former opener Ahmed Shehzad.Shehzad’s remarks were not limited to selection debates or management issues. Instead, he focused on what he sees as a deeper structural problem within the Pakistan Cricket Board. For years, he said, the board promoted a select group of players as the face of both the national team and the Pakistan Super League, only to face problems when results began to slip.
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EXCLUSIVE: Rahul Dravid’s iconic Eden Gardens win against Australia in 2001 “The caliber of your players is not at the level that the Pakistan Cricket Board built for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 5-7 years ago. These 6-8 boys are also the face of the PSL. They are also the face of our Pakistan team. Will they change Pakistan’s top ten?” Ahmed Shehzad asked in a video posted on his YouTube channel.He further accused the board of heavily supporting this core group through referrals, leadership roles and financial support, while failing to ensure accountability.“You gave those boys all the sponsorships, supported them and invested money in them. You captained them in the PSL, didn’t you? You made them the thumb of the Pakistan team. You gave the entire Pakistan cricket team to those 6 boys and their agents. And now what have they done? The fire they lit in the jungle, the fun and parties they filled, the pockets they enjoyed doing Pakistan. so,” said Shehzad.His criticism reflects a long-standing concern about the approach of Pakistan cricket, where certain players are repeatedly promoted as central figures without consistent results to justify that support. Shehzad claimed that the problem is not just the performance but the lack of accountability of the players.“That’s the audacity that even today they are ready to admit that we are responsible. Not even one of those players. Even today they are playing the blame game. Even today their ego is such that it won’t break. That’s how weak the Pakistan Cricket Board is now,” he added.He also questioned the board’s authority, suggesting it had lost control of those players it had given authority to.“Whenever you talk about any player, they start spinning stories. I have never seen such a weak Pakistan cricket board in my life, as weak as this PCB. They have power, don’t they? But in their decisions, they seem to kneel before their players. This PCB can’t do anything. The job they were supposed to do – bring in new faces – they didn’t do every action they did now, a new gimmick, but they caught them after doing it,” he said.For Shehzad, the issue goes far beyond a single series defeat or a tournament exit. He believes Pakistan cricket is dealing with a larger systemic problem where star-making takes precedence over renewal and accountability, leaving the team stuck in a cycle it has struggled to break.
