Ex-PCB chairman Najam Sethi has indirectly blamed former Prime Minister Imran Khan for the decline of Pakistan cricket. In a post on X, Sethi, whose last tenure at PCB was from December 2022 to June 2023, stated that the nation is rightfully frustrated with the national team’s performance. Pakistan, the hosts of the Champions Trophy, were eliminated from the tournament after consecutive losses.
“The cricket community says Pakistan has hit rock bottom. How is it that a cricket team that was once ranked No. 1 in T20s (2018), Tests (2016), and ODIs (1990 and 1996), and which won the World Cup in 1992 and the Champions Trophy in 2017, is now being compared to Zimbabwe?” According to Sethi, the decline began in 2019 when a new management under a new PM/Patron (Imran Khan was prime minister at the time and had appointed Ehsan Mani as PCB chairman) overhauled the domestic cricket structure, which had served Pakistan well for decades, replacing it with an unsuitable Australian hybrid model.
“Political interference continued; contradictory PCB policies became the norm—foreign coaches were hired and then dismissed, selectors were arbitrarily appointed, and retired players were brought back to mentor and manage.
“Eventually, player power, clashes of captain egos, and team factions took precedence over ineffective management! The disastrous outcome is now evident,” Sethi wrote.
The nation is justifiably angry. The cricket fraternity says Pakistan has hit rock bottom. How come a cricket team that was once #1 in T20s (2018) and Tests (2016) and ODIs (1990 and 1996), which won the WC in 1992 and CT in 2017, is today equated with Zimbabwe?
The downfall…— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) February 25, 2025
He added that Pakistan can certainly restore its cricketing glory if everyone acknowledges the issues and combines the integrity, experience, knowledge, and professionalism needed to address them.
Soon after Imran Khan became PM, Sethi resigned from the PCB, paving the way for the appointment of Ehsan Mani, a former ICC president.
In 2019, PCB, under Imran’s direction, revamped the domestic cricket structure, replacing the old system of 16-18 departmental and regional association teams with a six-team first-class structure.
Imran later appointed Ramiz Raja as chairman in 2021 when Mani declined an extension of his contract. Ramiz was replaced by Sethi in December 2022 after the fall of Imran Khan’s government.
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