Pakistan’s Interior Minister and Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board Mohsin Naqvi and head coach Mike Hesson (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan cricket’s recurring pattern of hype followed by disappointment and backlash has resurfaced once again after another underwhelming run. An early exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Super Eight stage was followed by a 1-2 ODI series loss in Bangladesh, triggering sharp criticism from former opener Ahmed Shehzad.Shehzad’s remarks were not limited to selection debates or leadership questions. Instead, he targeted what he believes is a deeper structural issue within the Pakistan Cricket Board. According to him, the board spent years promoting a select group of players as the faces of both the national team and the Pakistan Super League, only to find itself struggling when results began to decline.“The calibre of your players is not at that level, which was built up as a baran by the Pakistan Cricket Board for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 5 and 7 years ago. These 6-8 boys they are also the face of the PSL. They are also the face of our Pakistan team. Will they change Pakistan’s desitny?” Ahmed Shehzad questioned in a video posted on his YouTube channel.He further accused the board of heavily backing this core group through endorsements, leadership roles, and financial support, while failing to ensure accountability.“You provided all the sponsorships to those boys, endorsed them, and invested money in them. You have them captaincies in the PSL, right? You made them the thumb of the Pakistan team. You handed over the entire Pakistan cricket team to those 6 boys and their agents. And what have they done now? The fire they have lit in the jungle, the fun and parties they have had, the pockets they have filled, the enjoyment they have had, they haven’t given Pakistan any wins by doing so,” Shehzad said.His criticism reflects a long-standing concern around Pakistan cricket’s approach, where certain players are repeatedly elevated as central figures without consistent results to justify that backing. Shehzad argued that the issue is not just performance but the lack of responsibility shown by the players.“Such is the audacity that even today, they are ready to admit that we are responsible. Not a single one of those players. Even today, they play the blame game. Even today, their ego is such that it isn’t breaking. So weak is the Pakistan Cricket Board now,” he added.He also questioned the board’s authority, suggesting it has lost control over the very players it empowered.“Whenever you talk about any player, they start spinning stories. I have never seen the Pakistan Cricket Board this weak in my life, as weak as this PCB is. They have power, right? But in their decision-making, they appear to be kneeling before their players. This PCB can’t do anything. The work they were supposed to do – bringing in new faces – they didn’t. What they do is, after every event, they try to pull a new trick, but the public has now caught their pattern,” he said.For Shehzad, the issue goes far beyond a single series defeat or tournament exit. He believes Pakistan cricket is grappling with a larger systemic problem, where star-making has taken precedence over renewal and accountability, leaving the team stuck in a cycle it has struggled to break.

Lalit Modi and Kavya Maran

NEW DELHI: A storm surrounding Abrar Ahmed’s signing in The Hundred continued to grow after former IPL chairman Lalit Modi posted a pointed message that appeared aimed at Kavya Maran and her franchise, Sunrisers Leeds.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Sunrisers Leeds, owned by the same group behind Sunrisers Hyderabad, picked Abrar for £190,000 (approx. Rs 2.34 crore) at the inaugural men’s Hundred auction in London. The move triggered a massive backlash in India, given the long-standing absence of Pakistani players from IPL-linked ecosystems.Without naming anyone directly, Lalit Modi wrote on X: “Investing 2.34 crore on a Pakistani player when the fans are already on edge? I know a thing or two about managing optics and building empires. Call me.”The controversy even led to Sunrisers Leeds’ social media account being temporarily suspended amid the outrage, underlining the scale of public reaction.Backlash, political undertones and Gavaskar’s remarksThe signing has also reignited political sensitivities tied to India-Pakistan relations. Pakistani players have not featured in the IPL since its inaugural 2008 season, following the 2008 Mumbai attacks and subsequent diplomatic fallout.The debate escalated after Sunil Gavaskar criticised the move, calling it an indirect way of funding Pakistan’s military — remarks that drew sharp reactions across the cricketing community.Pakistan-born England cricketer Azeem Rafiq slammed Gavaskar’s comments, posting: “This is absolutely ridiculous & should be condemned… Vile stuff.”Despite the uproar, a telecomasia.net report indicated that Abrar remains unfazed. Ranked third in the ICC T20I bowlers rankings, the mystery spinner is focused on his career and opportunities in global leagues.“The noise on Abrar’s signing is not unexpected, but he is not losing sleep over the uproar,” sources close to the Pakistan Cricket Board said.Franchise stands firm amid ECB scrutinySunrisers Leeds coach Daniel Vettori defended the decision, stating that Abrar was among several top overseas spinner options after they missed out on Adil Rashid.“Very pleased to get him,” Vettori said, backing the selection purely on cricketing merit.With tensions between India and Pakistan still strained following recent geopolitical flashpoints, Abrar’s signing has become more than just a cricketing decision.

Jasprit Bumrah and Usman Tariq (AP Photos)

NEW DELHI: Pakistan selector Aaqib Javed on Saturday sparked debate after making a surprising comparison between Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah and Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq. His remarks came after India’s strong campaign in the T20 World Cup, where Bumrah played a key role in the team’s success.Bumrah was one of the standout players of the tournament, finishing as the joint-highest wicket-taker with 14 wickets alongside Varun Chakravarthy.

His best performance came in the final against New Zealand national cricket team in Ahmedabad, where he produced a brilliant spell of 4/15 in four overs. The performance helped India secure a dominant 96-run victory and defend their title, earning Bumrah the Player of the Match award.Explaining his comparison, Javed said Bumrah’s bowling style is rare because of his unusual action and the difficulty batters face in settling against him. “In today’s era, across this entire World Cup, there is only one bowler like that – Bumrah. Because he is different. He is not a normal bowler. Even his action is unusual. When he comes in to bowl, I always say he is like the Usman Tariq of fast bowlers,” he told reporters.He further explained that Bumrah’s pace and unique rhythm make him extremely hard to face. “He bowls so quickly and in such a unique manner that a batter never really finds any flow or rhythm against him. He simply doesn’t allow it,” he added.Javed also argued that bowlers with the aura of past greats are becoming rare in modern cricket. “Other than him, tell me one more bowler in this entire World Cup – from any team – whom you can look at and feel satisfied that he carries the reflection of a Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, or anyone like that. You won’t find one anymore,” he further noted.

‘Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Amir (Image credit: AFP)

Former Pakistan all-rounder and national selector Abdul Razzaq has revealed how, by a twist of fate, the 2010 spot-fixing conspiracy first came to the attention of the team management during Pakistan’s tour of England. Razzaq also recounted how then captain Shahid Afridi slapped fast bowler Mohammad Amir after the young pacer initially denied involvement in the scandal.Speaking on a Pakistani television show, Razzaq said the plot behind the fixing during the 2010 Lord’s Test spot-fixing scandal was uncovered by a friend of his in London who repaired mobile phones part-time.

“What happened was that Mazhar Majeed came to my friend and asked him to repair one of his phones. When my friend managed to get the phone working late at night, he found several messages between Mazhar and the three players detailing plans to spot-fix in the match,” Razzaq said.Majeed was later jailed for conspiring with Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Amir to spot-fix during the Test.According to Razzaq, his friend immediately showed him the messages, prompting him to inform Afridi, who was the senior-most player in the squad at the time.Afridi had stepped down as Test captain ahead of the series but remained the white-ball skipper.“Afridi called Amir, who was just 18 then, to his room and asked me to wait outside. I could hear Afridi getting angry and asking him to tell the truth. When he kept denying it, I heard a loud slap and rushed inside,” Razzaq recalled.“After that Amir broke down in tears and admitted to the conspiracy, and all hell broke loose,” he added.Razzaq said the scandal might not have spiralled if the Pakistan Cricket Board and team management had acted more swiftly.“Some senior players advised the team manager to fine the three players and send them home on disciplinary grounds before the ICC got involved,” he said.Eventually, Butt, Asif and Amir were banned by the International Cricket Council and later received jail sentences from a UK Crown Court.Butt and Asif never played for Pakistan again, although they were allowed to return to domestic cricket after completing their five-year bans.Amir, whose age and early confession were taken into account, returned to international cricket in 2016. He continued playing until the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, although he had earlier stepped away from international cricket due to a self-imposed retirement between 2020 and 2024.

India vs Pakistan (AP Photo)

NEW DELHI: Ahmed Shehzad has sparked controversy by accusing the Board of Control for Cricket in India of not allowing the International Cricket Council to directly conduct doping tests on Indian players. His comments came during the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, after India national cricket team had reached the semi-finals.Speaking on a Pakistani channel, Shehzad claimed that India handles its own anti-doping checks instead of relying on the ICC’s testing system.

He alleged that the Indian board prefers to conduct the tests itself because it does not trust outside technology. “ICC does the dope tests [sic] for the entire world except India. Their own board does it for them. Sir, they don’t give it to the ICC; they say we have our own board, which would determine. The Indians have said that we don’t trust any technology outside, we have good technology, so we would do the dope test for our own players,” Shehzad said.However, international cricket follows strict anti-doping rules based on the standards of the World Anti-Doping Agency. The ICC has been a signatory to the WADA Code since 2006, meaning players across the world are subject to strict testing rules.The ICC conducts both in-competition and out-of-competition tests, often without prior notice. Specially trained officers collect blood or urine samples, which are split into two parts called “A” and “B” samples and tested at WADA-accredited laboratories. If the first sample shows a banned substance, the player is provisionally suspended and can request the second sample to be tested. If the result is confirmed, the player can face a long ban from cricket.Meanwhile, the BCCI’s anti-doping system works under National Anti-Doping Agency, which the board joined in 2019. Since NADA also follows WADA rules, Indian players are still tested under the same global anti-doping standards used in international sport.

NEW DELHI: Babar Azam has been dropped from Pakistan’s ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series against Bangladesh, as the selectors begin reshaping the team with an eye on next year’s 50-over World Cup. The decision follows Pakistan’s disappointing T20 World Cup campaign in India and Sri Lanka, where they failed to reach the semi-finals.

Babar endured a lean run in the T20 tournament, managing only 91 runs. Despite that dip in form, his ODI numbers remain impressive — 6,501 runs and 20 centuries in 140 matches — making his omission a significant call. Alongside him, opener Saim Ayub, all-rounders Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz, and fast bowler Naseem Shah have also been left out of the 15-member squad.In a clear sign of transition, Pakistan have drafted in six uncapped players: Abdul Samad, Maaz Sadaqat, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Saad Masood, Sahibzada Farhan and Shamyl Hussain. The three ODIs will be played in Dhaka on March 11, 13 and 15, giving the newcomers a chance to prove themselves on the international stage.Meanwhile, Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out after suffering a hamstring injury during the T20 World Cup.Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi will captain the side, the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed, as the team enters what appears to be a rebuilding phase.With the next ODI World Cup scheduled to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in October next year, Pakistan seem focused on refreshing their squad and testing new combinations in the lead-up to the global event.