Rashid Latif Criticizes PCB After Pakistan's Lord's Defeat
The defeat was heavy. The reaction, even heavier.
Pakistan’s 194-run loss to England at Lord’s did more than surrender the series 2-0 with a Test to spare. It ignited a blistering assault from former captain Rashid Latif, who turned the spotlight away from the players and straight onto the Pakistan Cricket Board and its chairman, Mohsin Naqvi.
As Pakistan trudged out of Lord’s with another innings of frailty behind them, sections of the British media branded this touring outfit the “worst Pakistan side in the last 50 years”. Latif did not flinch at that description. He went further.
Speaking on Geo News, the former wicketkeeper-batter claimed the real rot lay above the dressing room.
“Everyone is talking about the Pakistan team, and how it is the worst touring team in the last 50 years. But nobody is speaking about how the current board is the worst in the last 70 years. Nobody is talking about the worst selection committee and coaches,” Latif said, in a scathing assessment of the setup.
“If you combine these issues, you will get the answer to your question. You will know who has ruined this team. Now you are losing consistently. This is the worst cricket board, that's a fact,” he added.
In a week where Pakistan’s cricket had already looked exposed on the field, Latif’s words ripped away what little cover remained off it.
Batting in ruins as Babar falters on return
The numbers tell a brutal story. Across two Tests in England, Pakistan have not crossed 200 even once. In modern Test cricket, that is not just poor; it is uncompetitive.
The bowlers have been handed scraps. The batters have not so much struggled as collapsed, repeatedly and predictably.
Babar Azam’s return at Lord’s was supposed to bring order. He missed the opening Test, and his comeback carried the quiet hope that a world-class batter could steady a listing top order.
Instead, Lord’s only deepened the crisis. Babar made 8 and 6, dismissed twice without ever looking in control. His second-innings exit cut particularly deep: Jofra Archer targeted him with a sharp bouncer, unsettled him, and exposed a discomfort against the short ball that England were quick to exploit.
For a captain under pressure and a batting unit on the brink, it was the wrong moment to look vulnerable.
As the series heads to its final stop, Pakistan’s batting has become the central talking point. Not just form, but confidence. Not just technique, but temperament. Right now, they are failing on all fronts.
Lord’s controversy: Imran Khan interview and PCB backlash
If the cricket at Lord’s was one-sided, the backdrop was anything but quiet.
An 18-minute Sky Sports interview with Sulaiman and Kasim Khan, the sons of former Pakistan captain and ex-prime minister Imran Khan, added a charged political layer to an already tense tour. The pair spoke about their father’s circumstances and treatment while he remains in prison, turning a cricket broadcast into a moment of national introspection for many Pakistani viewers.
Reports then surfaced that the PCB had threatened to pull Pakistan out of the Test if the interview went to air. The claim threw fuel on an already simmering debate about the board’s conduct and priorities.
On the ground, though, those inside the dressing room distanced themselves. Captain Babar Azam and head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed both said they were unaware of any such plan. The team took the field as scheduled. The game went ahead without interruption.
England did the rest, wrapping up a comprehensive victory and the series along with it.
Now both teams move to Birmingham for the third and final Test at Edgbaston, starting September 9. For England, it is a chance to close out a clean sweep. For Pakistan, after public humiliation, boardroom criticism and a batting lineup in freefall, the question is harsher:
Do they have a response left, or just one more chapter in a tour that has laid their problems brutally bare?
