In Lahore on Thursday, men’s selector Aaqib Javed pushed back against the volume of criticism that has followed Pakistan’s early departure from the T20 World Cup. Facing the media alongside fellow panellists Misbah-ul-Haq and Sarfaraz Ahmed, he stressed that the side missed the semi-finals “only because of net run rate” and that it “wasn’t so big an issue to suggest Pakistan cricket had been destroyed”.
The press conference had no squad announcement; it was called simply so the committee could talk, and maybe vent. Moments after it wrapped up, a Pakistan Cricket Board statement confirmed that chairman Mohsin Naqvi had “expressing full confidence” in the selectors and urged them not to “worry about criticism that is made merely for the sake of criticism”.
Aaqib, the lone constant on a panel that has chopped and changed since October 2024, duly laid out the positives.
“Overall, if I view the Pakistan team since I’ve come here, we beat England in a Test series, which no one even dreamed of. We won an ODI series in Australia after 27 years. We then beat South Africa 3-0 in South Africa, which no one has ever done. We let the Centurion Test slip through our fingers, and should have won it,” he said, rattling off results almost in one breath.
He acknowledged the Champions Trophy flop – “I admit was a disaster” – yet argued that the broader picture showed progress. “Here, we beat South Africa, Sri Lanka and Australia, which suggested that we were going to do well in the T20 World Cup.”
Throughout, the theme was consistent: Pakistan cricket needs patience, not perpetual upheaval. “In our setup whenever a team loses, there is always a demand to punish someone,” Aaqib reminded reporters. “It happened at the previous World Cup, then the Champions Trophy, and the Asia Cup. Whenever we lose, we’ll go over the top, demanding the whole team or coach or selectors be changed. The way we change coaches and selectors never happens anywhere else in world cricket. We’ll have to move past scapegoating people.”
Selection-panel turnover illustrates the point. Aleem Dar walked away after the World Cup, while Azhar Ali left late last year, leaving Aaqib to welcome Misbah and Sarfaraz only last week.
Statistically, Pakistan’s campaign was tight: four wins and two defeats, but an inferior run rate left them third in Group 1 behind New Zealand and India. Critics say conservative middle-overs batting cost the side; selectors counter that their options were limited by form and fitness. The truth, as ever, sits somewhere between.
Looking ahead, Javed believes clearer messaging will help. He talked of establishing a style of play and trusting individuals across formats. None of that sounds radical, yet in Pakistan it often proves elusive.
For now, the committee keeps its jobs, the chairman’s backing buys time and the debate rolls on – as it always does when green shirts exit a World Cup too soon.
