PCB chief and Pakistan interior minister Mohsin Naqvi has found himself in the eye of the storm of the Indian cricket media, as his words and actions throughout the heated Asia Cup 2025 has transformed him into something of a villain across the border.
After the saga of Naqvi leaving the Dubai International Stadium with the Indian team’s trophy and gold medals upon the conclusion of the final on Sunday, there has been no lack of animosity towards the administrator, particularly in his role as current ACC chief.
However, Naqvi hasn’t been free of blame in Pakistan either, although that is more to do with cricketing reasons than the political clash that defined this year’s India vs Pakistan conflicts. Naqvi took over as chair of the Pakistan Cricket Board in 2024, but has overseen a rocky transition period. This has led to a host of coaching changes in what has been a revolving door of personnel for the men’s team, as well as underwhelming results in major tournaments to this point.
With the dual role he serves for the Pakistan government and within Pakistan cricket, calls have increased for Naqvi to drop one in favour of the other, and to allow the PCB to be handled with total focus – either by himself, or by a different appointee.
One of the louder voices to ask for this change is Shahid Afridi, with the former Pakistan captain in particular questioning the credibility of the figures who act as advisors for Naqvi.
“My request or advice to Naqvi saheb is that these are two very important posts, and they are big jobs that need time,” Afridi said on Telecom Asia Sport. “PCB is totally different from the Interior Ministry, so it must be kept separate.”
‘Appoint competent advisers…’
Afridi admitted that this is not an easy move to make, but still maintained this should be something that should be a priority within Pakistan cricket. “It would be a big decision and should be taken as soon as possible. Pakistan cricket needs special attention and time… Naqvi cannot rely totally on advisers,” explained the all-round great.
“These advisers are taking him nowhere and he himself says that he doesn’t know much about cricket. He needs to appoint good and competent advisors who know about the game,” concluded Afridi, making his thoughts clear on where he believes Pakistan cricket needs to go next.
With Mike Hesson in charge as coach and a new crop of captains across formats, how Pakistan cricket develops over the coming months will be significant, and will provide a view into how smoothly operations are being run in their cricket board.