PAK vs ENG: Danish Kaneria points to PSL in scathing allegations against PCB amid Pakistan's struggles

Former Pakistan legspinner Danish Kaneria has accused the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) of focusing more on the Pakistan Super League (PSL) rather than domestic cricket in the country. Danish Kaneria reckoned that the board should be blamed more for such a situation in Pakistan than the players.

Pakistan cricket is going through its worst times currently. The team suffered a shocking whitewash at the hands of Bangladesh at home recently. The Men in Green will be up against England in a three-match Test series next month which will be a stern test for them.

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Danish Kaneria puts serious allegations on PCB

While speaking on Zee News, Danish Kaneria stated that the players must not be blamed for the team's poor performance. Danish Kaneria instead put all the blame on the PCB for focusing too much on PSL rather than giving domestic cricket much importance.

“I think we should not blame players, it is the system that has been failing time and again and as a result, Pakistan cricket is going down. Pakistan Cricket Board is only focusing towards PSL rather they should take domestic cricket seriously. They have made Test cricket secondary," Danish Kaneria said.

Pakistan's performance has constantly deteriorated in Test cricket over the past few years. Before losing to Bangladesh recently, they were whitewashed 3-0 by Australia. They have failed to produce world-class cricketers in red-ball cricket as they once used to do in the past.

Sarfaraz Ahmed's removal from captaincy led to Pakistan's downfall

Danish Kaneria further mentioned that Pakistan's downfall started from the moment Sarfaraz Ahmed was removed from the captaincy. He accused the PCB of too much internal politics which has affected the environment of the dressing room.

"Their downfall started when they removed Sarfaraz Ahmed from captaincy, he was a perfect skipper. There has been a lot of politics going on in the Pakistan Cricket Board and as a result, the aura, and the ambience of the team have been pathetic”, he added.

Before the series loss to Bangladesh, Pakistan were eliminated from the group stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 and failed to qualify for the Super 8 stage under the leadership of Babar Azam. After the tournament, they were heavily criticized by the country's former cricketers and experts for their poor performance.

Pakistan in recent ICC tournaments

Meanwhile, Pakistan is scheduled to host the Champions Trophy next year during February-March. It will be a huge tournament for Pakistan who will look for an improved performance this time around in an ICC event. The last two ICC events haven't been the best for them as they failed to go past the first round in both tournaments.

Currently, the Champions One-Day Cup tournament is being held in Pakistan in which the five teams are competing with each other. The teams include not only the domestic players but also the seasoned international players like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi.