Rashid Latif Critiques PCB After Lord’s Defeat
Rashid Latif has never been one to sugarcoat a crisis. After Pakistan were thrashed by 194 runs in the second Test at Lord’s, the former captain turned his fire not just on the players, but on the very system that sent them out.
England’s win, which put them in complete control of the three-match series, has triggered a brutal reckoning back in Pakistan. The Babar Azam-led side have been outplayed from the moment they landed in the UK, and the criticism has been just as unforgiving.
British media have labelled this touring group the “worst Pakistan side in the last 50 years.” Latif didn’t flinch at that description. He accepted it – and then went further.
On Geo News, the ex-wicketkeeper-batter shifted the spotlight sharply towards the Pakistan Cricket Board and its chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
“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, dragging the entire structure into the dock.
He didn’t stop there.
“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, laying Pakistan’s slide squarely at the feet of the administrators.
Batting in freefall
On the field, the numbers tell their own damning story. Across the series so far, Pakistan have not crossed 200 even once. For a side that once prided itself on producing flair and fight in English conditions, that statistic stings.
Babar Azam missed the series opener, and his return for the Lord’s Test was supposed to steady the top order and bring some authority back to the crease. Instead, it turned into a nightmare.
He scraped scores of 8 and 6, never looking settled. In the second innings, Jofra Archer exposed him with a vicious bouncer that made one of the modern game’s premier batters look rattled and unsure. For Pakistan fans, watching their captain fending awkwardly at pace under the Lord’s sky felt like a symbol of a wider unraveling.
Around him, the rest of the batting lineup fared no better. Soft dismissals, poor shot selection, and a lack of resilience turned every England spell into a procession. The margin of defeat – 194 runs – barely captured how far apart the two sides looked.
Turmoil off the field
All this played out against a fraught backdrop. The Lord’s Test was overshadowed by reports that the PCB had threatened to pull Pakistan out of the match after Sky Sports aired an 18-minute interview with the sons of Imran Khan.
In that broadcast, they spoke about the former Pakistan captain and Prime Minister’s condition in jail, comments that sparked anger in sections of Pakistan and reportedly unsettled the board. The noise around the interview only added to a sense of chaos swirling around the tour.
On the ground, Babar Azam and head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed moved quickly to shut down talk that the PCB had considered withdrawing from the Test. Both firmly denied the reports, insisting the team remained focused on cricket.
But as Latif’s outburst underlined, the issues run deeper than one controversy or one bad day. For him, the rot is institutional: selection, coaching, governance – all failing in concert.
A final chance at Edgbaston
There is still one Test left, at Edgbaston in Birmingham, starting September 9. On paper, it is just the final match of a three-game series. In reality, it feels like something closer to a referendum on where Pakistan cricket goes next.
The team need runs. The captain needs a response. And the board, under Mohsin Naqvi, now faces a harsher glare than at any point in this troubled tour.
If this really is, as Latif claims, the “worst cricket board” in Pakistan’s history, Edgbaston will not just be about salvaging pride on the scoreboard. It will be about proving that someone, somewhere, is still capable of stopping the slide.
