Shoaib Akhtar clarified his comments after Pakistan’s loss to India, saying his criticism was misinterpreted and not directed at PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi.
Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar clarified his remarks less than 24 hours after criticising Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi. His comments came following Pakistan’s 61-run defeat to India in the T20 World Cup. This had marked Pakistan’s eighth defeat in nine World Cup meetings against India and left the 2009 champions close to another group-stage exit.
Akhtar had expressed frustration during a TV appearance after the match.
“The biggest crime in the world is giving an incompetent guy the biggest job. When an incompetent and jaahil (ignorant) person is given a big job, any sort of chaos and damage can happen,” Akhtar had ranted on.
However, a day later, Akhtar had taken a U-turn. He stated that his comments were misinterpreted by the Indian media and were not directed at Naqvi. He also added that the criticism was targeted at decision-makers in international cricket rather than the PCB chief.
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“My comments were never aimed at Mohsin Naqvi. The remark about incompetence was not directed at him at all — it was meant for the top brass who run international cricket. Some Indian TV channels twisted my words. In the same programme, I even asked people not to say anything negative about Mohsin bhai, because I won’t tolerate that,” Akhtar told Pakistani media outlet ARY News.
“Mohsin Naqvi is a good man and he wants to do good work. But he just doesn’t get the right advice. He is the most powerful man in Pakistan cricket, but he is not picking the right people to select the team,” he concluded.
Pakistan will next meet Namibia on Wednesday at the SSC Colombo.
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