 "Pakistan great Shahid Afridi slammed by former ICC president and PCB chief: 'They have their personal agendas'")
Former ICC President and PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani has strongly criticised ex-Pakistan cricketers, including Shahid Afridi, for what he believes are personal agendas driving their public remarks about the state of cricket in the country. Mani’s response comes in the wake of Afridi’s recent controversial statements regarding the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and its leadership.
Afridi’s scathing remarks on Pakistan cricket’s condition
Shahid Afridi recently made headlines with his criticism of the current PCB Chairman, Mohsin Naqvi. The former Pakistan captain claimed that Naqvi himself admitted to having limited knowledge of cricket, questioning his ability to lead the board. Afridi further pointed out the sad state of affairs in Pakistan cricket, comparing it to a patient in the ICU and calling for urgent reforms.
“All the time we talk about preparations, and when an event comes and we flop, then we talk about surgery. The fact is, Pakistan cricket is in the ICU because of incorrect decisions,” Afridi said after Pakistan’s humiliating first-round exit from the Champions Trophy 2025, their maiden ICC event as hosts in 29 years.
Mani dismisses Afridi’s criticism
Ehsan Mani, who served as PCB chairman from 2018 to 2021, dismissed Afridi’s comments despite stating the same issue that Pakistan cricket’s main issue is not talent but a lack of organisational skill at the top of the body.
“Look, there’s no shortage of talent in Pakistan. It’s a matter of just going back and rethinking how to take Pakistan cricket forward. I had started the process by introducing a new format for first-class cricket, and in fact, for all forms of cricket in Pakistan, based on provincial teams,” Mani told Hindustan Times.
“I do not give any credibility to what Shahid Afridi or anyone else says. They have their personal agendas or whatever. So I wouldn’t go there. No comment on that. All I would say is that leadership must come from the chairman and from the board of directors of PCB. For the rest, I don’t give much credibility to these criticisms,” Mani concluded.
Pakistan made a group-stage exit from their third consecutive ICC tournament in less than two years. They first failed to make the knockout stage of the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, where they suffered a loss against lower-ranked side Afghanistan. Then, in the 2024 T20 World Cup, Pakistan were humiliated at the hands of part-time cricketers from the USA. In the Champions Trophy, Pakistan played two matches and lost both of them, resulting in their first-round exit from the event they were hosting.
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