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Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif raised serious questions over the way the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), headed by Mohsin Naqvi, is handling the national team. The PCB has been accused of not giving enough power to the captain and coaching staff and controlling the team from behind the scenes.
The criticism comes after the PCB made a shocking decision to change seven players and two coaches during the ongoing three-match Test series against England. This left many to question the PCB’s decision-making and the lack of stability in the Pakistan setup. Amid this, Aaqib Javed’s influence has been cut down as Mike Hesson gets a bigger role in Pakistan cricket.
Rashid Latif questions PCB’s ‘Remote Control’ approach
The Pakistan National Cricket Team lost the first two Tests, and the PCB responded with a series of drastic changes before the third and final match in Birmingham. Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha were among the seven players sent back home.
Even Test coach Sarfaraz Ahmed was also removed from his position, while bowling coach Umar Gul was shown the exit. And the white-ball coach, Mike Hesson, was brought in for the third test. The decision added to the confusion because Hesson is handling the white-ball coaching.
Now, Rashid Latif has questioned why Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul were sent to England in the first place if the PCB wanted to control major decisions itself.
The former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif also pointed to the earlier exits of former Test coach Jason Gillespie and white-ball coach Gary Kirsten. Amid this, Mohammad Rizwan and Imam-ul-Haq are in trouble over reported dressing-room behaviour issues.
Is Babar Azam the next target? Rashid Latif warns
Both Gillespie and Kirsten had left their positions after differences over their powers and involvement in team matters. Latif highlighted the long-running issue of coaches not getting enough freedom from the PCB. The former captain also raised questions over Babar Azam's position.
Pakistan had earlier brought Babar back into the role after removing Shan Masood. Under Babar, Pakistan managed to draw the two-match Test series against the West Indies. But the situation quickly became worse in England, where the team suffered defeats in the first two Tests.
Rashid Latif posted on X (formerly Twitter): “If the team had to be run by remote control, then why were Sarfaraz and Umar Gul sent? Why were the selection powers taken away from Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie? And if Captain Babar Azam wasn’t listening, the captain should have been sacked—so why were Sarfaraz and Umar Gul sent back instead? Is Babar Azam the next target?”
PCB under fire as cricket legends slam shocking changes
Recently, former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain, along with former Pakistan players Ramiz Raja, Basit Ali, and Shahid Afridi, have all questioned the timing and scale of the changes. However, the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has defended the drastic changes.
The PCB believes that the tough decisions were necessary for the betterment of the national side after its poor performance in Test cricket. Pakistan's Test record had been a serious concern. The side sits at the bottom of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 points table.
