New Delhi: Pakistan‘s fate was sealed when politician Mohsin Naqvi was made chairman of the country’s cricket board, former pacer Shoaib Akhtar reflected after their 61-run loss to traditional rivals India in the T20 World Cup.
Pakistan were bowled out for 114 in 18 overs in chase of 176 runs at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and need to beat Namibia on February 18 to progress to the super eight stage.
It was their eighth loss in nine meetings against India in the tournament’s history, which sparked intense criticism from followers and former cricketers.
Akhtar has often been critical of the state of Pakistan cricket over the years and said he knew from beforehand they would lose against India.
VIDEO | ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, 2026: PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi leaves R. Premadasa International Stadium. #INDvsPAK
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/QXbYcjFUCN
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 15, 2026
“Now one guy doesn’t even know he’s the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board. How will the team run now? You’re saying one guy, you’ve made him a superstar, he can’t win a single match. You’ve made him a star who can’t win a single living match,” Akhtar told ABP News.
“Brother, when you make these kinds of stars, when you choose them, when you pick them, then you’ll have this problem only. But again, the point is, if you see, you know what the biggest crime in the world is? The biggest crime in the world is that you give a big job to an incompetent and Jahil (Uneducated) person.”
Naqvi watched the action from the stands on Sunday and reportedly left during the 12th over of Pakistan’s run chase.
“India have gone very far ahead, and we have been left very far behind. It’s all about TRP now (television rating points). We aren’t going to see any fight on the pitch, but I hope Pakistan can beat Namibia, reach Super 8s, and some kind of miracle can happen. I’ll keep backing Pakistan,” Akhtar said.
‘Time up’
Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf felt time has come to drop their senior trio of Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shadab Khan from T20Is and invest in fresher talent.
Another former skipper Ramiz Raja observed that batters refuse to learn despite repeated failures against familiar Indian bowlers.
Well that was a bit of a disaster- especially batting !! India have been fielding same bowling attack against Pakistan since last 2/3 years and every time batsmen have been woefully ordinary …no growth …”