Former leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has strongly criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), stating that a street-cricket team was better than the current national team. Kaneria emphasised that the standards of the Pakistan cricket team have declined to such an extent that a local street’s team could outperform them, attributing this decline to the PCB's poor management. He said that the board should be held accountable for the team's under performance. Kaneria said that the decision to replace Sarfaraz Ahmed, who led Pakistan to victory in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, with Babar Azam as captain was a mistake by the PCB. "I don’t understand why Babar Azam was given the leadership despite Sarfaraz Ahmed's effective captaincy," he remarked. "A captain is someone who carries the pressure and drives the team forward; unfortunately, both Babar Azam and Shan Masood have failed in this regard." Kaneria also noted that Indian players consistently stepped up when needed, citing the contributions of Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, and others, making India a world-class team.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan