Babar Azam asked to 'quit' T20 cricket by Vaughan; Akhtar, Saqlain slam PCB: 'World is 100 years ahead of us'

The Pakistan cricket team is facing tough questions both on and off the field after their narrow two-wicket loss to England in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Group 2 Super 8 match, where England skipper Harry Brook scored a stunning 51-ball century to take his team into the semifinals.

Brook’s innings was his best in T20 internationals and the highest by an England captain in T20 World Cup history. Chasing 165 on a tricky pitch, England were struggling at 35 for 3 and later 58 for 4 before Brook almost single-handedly carried the team to victory.

T20 World Cup 2026:     News |     Schedule |     Results |     Points Table

Vaughan advises Babar to quit T20Is

Off the field, former England captain Michael Vaughan suggested Pakistan star Babar Azam should give up T20 internationals to focus on Tests and ODIs. Babar once again failed to help his team score runs after wickets kept falling at one end when Sahibzada Farhan was still going.

“I just think he’s a beautiful player. I mean, there are some players that, you know, you look at the way that T20 has moved in the last four or five years, it’s become more and more like baseball. You know, these players are massive. I look at someone like Finn Allen. He’s a monster. A massive human being just launches it. I would think that the best thing for Babar to prolong his Test career and his 50-over career would be to give up T20 international cricket,” Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.

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Akhtar, Saqlain slam PCB

Meanwhile, former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and coach Mike Hesson, saying the world of cricket is far ahead of Pakistan. “If you say Mike Hesson is the guy, he’s not. The world is playing a brand of cricket that is 100 years ahead of us,” Akhtar said on Game on Hai show. He added that certain players, including Babar Azam and Saim Ayub don’t fit in the current team, but Hesson thinks he knows better.

Mohammad Hafeez also spoke out, claiming that coaches like Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten left Pakistan due to unfulfilled promises by the PCB. He blamed the board for the current poor state of cricket. “When I was made the coach by the PCB, I was told it would be for four years and I would have full authority. The same was promised to Gillespie and Kirsten, but when they didn’t get that, they left,” Hafeez said.

Former off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq also slammed the PCB, describing it as unsupportive. “It’s quite tough. It’s challenging because we are not visionary. Whatever we plan for Pakistan, it doesn’t get executed. Then when we try to do it, there is no support. Chop and change continues, affecting everything overall,” he said.

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The criticism comes at a difficult time for Pakistan cricket, which is struggling in the ongoing T20 World Cup to qualify for the semifinals. Pakistan have failed to reach the knockout stage of ICC events for the past three years. They currently sit in third place in Group 2 with just one point to their name. It’s going to be very difficult for Salman Agha and his team to qualify from here on.