Pakistan spin legend tears into Mohsin Naqvi-led PCB; doesn’t spare Aaqib Javed and Mike Hesson either

Saeed Ajmal, who represented Pakistan with distinction back in the day, was reacting to PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi’s remarks after the Lord’s defeat.

Former Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal continues to hold a grudge against the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Ajmal, who took 362 wickets in international cricket for Pakistan before his career was cut short due to an issue with his bowling action, has often criticised the board for not standing up for him. Recently, after the Lord’s Test defeat by England, Pakistan sacked head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed, bowling coach Umar Gul and asked seven players to fly back home. One of those seven players, Imam-ul-Haq didn’t bat in either of the innings and was accused of faking his calf injury.

Saeed Ajmal questions the way the PCB works. (X images)

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi then, in an interview, tried to defend the players, asking the critics to stop demotivating them. 48-year-old Ajmal, however, doesn’t think Naqvi was earnest. “The board itself has demotivated the players more than anyone else. The board is not letting any player stand. There are players who have done well, who have also been dropped. There are players who have been humiliated by the PCB,” the former spinner said.

Deep Dive

What were the reasons behind the recent changes in the Pakistan cricket team's management?

Why does Saeed Ajmal criticize the PCB and its management?

How has criticism affected the morale of the players in the Pakistan cricket team?

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Ajmal didn’t hold back from thrashing Director High Performance and selector Aaqib Javed and Mike Hesson, the white-ball coach. “Aaqib Javed and Mike Hesson (who has been asked to take over the Test team for the third Test) are a team. These two are controlling everything and are responsible for this whole mess. The whole issue is about egos,” Ajmal said on Samaa TV. “Our team has gone back 10 years. We have not planned for the future,” he added.

Pakistan have already lost the series and stare at a whitewash as the third Test is set to kick off on Wednesday at Edgbaston. Earlier, in the same interview with Geo Network, Naqvi tried to convey the message that the sacking of the players wasn’t a personal vendetta. Everything that was done was done with the heart in the right place. “Every match of a series is important for us, and we are not left with any option if a player is not performing but to look for his replacement. The purpose behind these changes is not to axe players from contention, but just to replace them. Consider [Salman] Agha, who is a very good player, but he could not click because of some reasons. He was spoken to about it,” he said.