"The surgery of Pakistan Cricket Team"- Mohsin Naqvi backtracks on his earlier statement

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) replied to his earlier statement in which he claimed that the Pakistan cricket team requires major surgery after their disappointing campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Pakistan had a poor T20 World Cup 2024 in which they bowed out of the group stage of the tournament after shocking defeats to the USA and eventual champions India. In their opening game of the tournament, they suffered a defeat to co-hosts USA in the Super Over. This defeat was hugely shocking given Pakistan's loads of experience as compared to the USA.

In the second match, the Men in Green lost to arch-rivals India narrowly by 6 runs. Despite being in a winning position at one stage, Pakistan lost the game. They won their next two games against Canada and Ireland but could not make it to the next round.

Also read: AB de Villiers mocks Mumbai Indians' fans, as Hardik Pandya wins back his respect

Mohsin Naqvi defends his earlier statement on the Pakistan cricket team

Mohsin Naqvi had a press interaction with the reporters in Lahore during which he said that the surgery on the Pakistan cricket team will not be taken in anger as it can lead to disasters.

"Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi - The surgery of Pakistan Cricket Team will NOT be conducted in an anger because decisions taken in emotions can have more consequences," Arfa Feroz Zake, a journalist at Geo News, posted on X.

Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi - "The surgery of Pakistan Cricket Team will NOT be conducted in an anger because decisions taken in emotions can have more consequences." #PCB

— Arfa Feroz Zake (@ArfaSays_) July 4, 2024

In his earlier comments, Mohsin Naqvi had promised major surgery on the Pakistan cricket team after the team's early elimination from the T20 World Cup 2024.

Naqvi also added that a decision on Babar Azam's captaincy future will be taken by the former cricketers and head coach Gary Kirsten.

"I'm only speaking to those former cricketers who are interested in the betterment of Pakistan cricket. Kirsten has also submitted a detailed report on the Pakistan team’s performance in the T20 World Cup,” Naqvi stated.

Bad time for Pakistan cricket

Pakistan cricket team has been going through a bad time for the past few months. They haven't been able to make it past the first stage in the last two ICC tournaments, which is a huge concern.

After the ODI World Cup 2023, Babar Azam was removed from the captaincy due to the team's poor returns. Shaheen Afridi was appointed the captain for the T20I series against New Zealand, which Pakistan went on to lose.

Afterwards, Mohsin Naqvi was appointed as PCB chairman and he reinstated Babar Azam as the captain of the team. The decision to go back to Babar Azam was severely criticized by the experts at that time, who argued that Shaheen Afridi should have been given a longer rope to prove himself.

Pakistan's next international assignment is stated to be held in November, where they will tour Australia for an ODI and a T20I series.