Mohsin Naqvi did not wait for the final handshake line that never came. As Pakistan slid towards yet another defeat to India, the PCB chairman quietly left his seat at the R. Premadasa Stadium. By then, the result was beyond doubt. Pakistan were 97 for 9, Suryakumar Yadav was relaxed enough to toss the ball to Rinku Singh, and the gulf between the two sides had once again been laid bare.
Hours after Shoaib Akhtar had publicly questioned his competence and called him ‘jaahil’, Naqvi appeared to have broken the silence on Pakistan’s another thrashing. According to PTI, the PCB chief conveyed his displeasure over the 61-run hammering to team manager Naved Akram Cheema through a senior board official. The message from Naqvi that such performances in marquee matches are neither understandable nor acceptable.
This was the sixth India-Pakistan meeting since Naqvi took charge. The scoreline now reads 6-0 in India’s favour. Naqvi may have done something different off the field by showing some retaliation against India. However, he has utterly failed as PCB chief and in helping his team grow on the field.
Babar Azam to be dropped?
The drama surrounding the boycott that threatened to ruin the match had revolved around Naqvi. After Bangladesh were eliminated from the tournament, Pakistan first alluded to missing the match but changed their mind in response to pressure from the ICC and government orders. When Pakistan finally took the pitch, they were completely outplayed.
After the defeat, the team management reportedly had late-night talks. Changes for the upcoming match are being discussed, including the potential benching of veteran players Shaheen Afridi and Babar Azam. According to reports, head coach Mike Hesson told the team that they had not performed to their full potential.
“The Chairman left the match early at the Premadasa Stadium as it became obvious Pakistan were going to face another defeat to India,” the source said. “Late night the management think tank decided enough was enough and it was to bench Babar and Shaheen and try out Salman Mirza/Naseem Shah and Fakhar Zaman against Namibia on Wednesday,” he said.
Shaheen Afridi was taken for cleaners. Babar Azam didn’t do anything in a situation that should’ve been ideal to him. Salman Mirza completely outbowled Afridi against the Netherlands as well. Yet, Pakistan benched him from the next game but continued playing Afridi, who has an economy rate of 11.22 in this tournament so far. Babar, meanwhile, has a poor record as well with 66 runs at 22.00 and an SR of 115.79. Utterly disappointing from the two veterans.
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