Imran Khan suspiciously strangled and pinned for Pakistan's Champions Trophy 2025 exit

Former PCB chairman Najam Sethi launched a brutal attack on the legendary Pakistan captain Imran Khan, blaming him for the national team's debacle. Sethi claimed that Pakistan's downfall started in 2019 when Imran Khan came into power as the country's Prime Minister.

Pakistan cricket team is going through one of its toughest times currently with many of the country's cricket experts claiming that they can't go down anymore.

Men in Green recently crashed out of the Champions Trophy 2025, a tournament in which they are the hosts.

The team has been brutally criticized for its performance with many of the former cricketers demanding a total change in the country's cricket operations. The performance of seniors like Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan has come under the scanner after they failed to make an impact in the tournament.

Also read: PCB goes nuclear, plans the strongest action against Aaqib Javed after CT 2025 disaster

Najam Sethi holds Imran Khan responsible for Pakistan's debacle

Najam Sethi took to social media to express his thoughts on Pakistan's recent performance in the Champions Trophy. He claimed that the country's cricket team has hit rock bottom and is compared to teams like Zimbabwe, who were not even a part of this Champions Trophy.

“The nation is justifiably angry. The cricket fraternity says Pakistan has hit rock bottom. How come a cricket team that was once no 1 in T20s (2018) and Tests (2016) and ODIs (1990 and 1996), which won the WC in 1992 and CT in 2017, is today equated with Zimbabwe?”

Sethi explained how the downfall started in 2019 when Imran Khan came into power and brought a new PCB management along with him. Imran also changed the country's domestic structure and brought some Australian coaches to change the team's mindset.

However, Sethi feels that didn't work in Pakistan and the political interference further derailed the growth of Pakistan cricket. He also claimed that the constant chopping and changing of coaches didn't help and the result wasn't the best.

"The downfall started in 2019 when a new management under a new PM/Patron changed the domestic cricket structure that had served Pakistan reasonably well for decades and replaced it with an ill-suited Australian hybrid model.

"Political interference continued; contradictory PCB policies became the norm— foreign coaches were hired and sent packing, selectors were whimsically nominated, old discards were recruited to mentor and manage," Sethi noted.

"Finally, player power, clash of captain egos, and groupings in the team came to prevail over fumbling management! The horrible result is before us," the former PCB chairman added.

Sethi was replaced by Ehsan Mani as the new PCB chairman when Imran Khan came into power. However, the move didn't work as Pakistan continued to struggle.

Can Pakistan make a comeback?

Despite things not going in a better direction, Najam Sethi is hopeful that Pakistan can change its fortunes by concentrating on a few aspects of the game. He believes that the country has the experience and knowledge to gain its stand in international cricket.

"We can certainly restore our cricket fortunes if we recognize the nature of the problems and marshal the integrity, experience, knowledge, and professionalism required to do the job," he added.

The nation is justifiably angry. The cricket fraternity says Pakistan has hit rock bottom. How come a cricket team that was once #1 in T20s (2018) and Tests (2016) and ODIs (1990 and 1996), which won the WC in 1992 and CT in 2017, is today equated with Zimbabwe?
The downfall…

— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) February 25, 2025

Pakistan have produced a no. of great players in the past who have emerged to become world-class players. The country has been blessed with some unique talents but they have been unable to cope with the international requirements which require playing with intent.

Imran Khan's contribution to Pakistan cricket

Imran Khan is known as a talismanic captain who helped Pakistan win the 1992 World Cup. It was the country's first and the only ODI World Cup title to date. Imran Khan produced some memorable performances in the tournament with both bat and ball.

Pakistan suffered humiliating defeats to New Zealand and India recently in the Champions Trophy and bowed out of the tournament. They convincingly lost both the matches and weren't at their best.

New Zealand and India qualified further from Group A, while Pakistan and Bangladesh were unable to make it to the semi-finals. It is a big blow for the hosts as they were hosting an ICC tournament after 29 years.