Islamabad: Mohsin Naqvi reportedly left the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday night before the last Pakistani wicket fell. Back home in Pakistan, tensions are said to be simmering in the power corridors after the humiliating defeat and much of this has to do with remarks made by Naqvi.
According to reports, the situation has evolved into a sensitive civil-military moment involving Naqvi, who is the interior minister of Pakistan and chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), and the country’s military chief Asim Munir.
Much of this has to do with remarks made by Naqvi during a Pakistan Super League (PSL) press conference ahead of the high-voltage encounter in Colombo.
When asked about alleged ICC “threats” and Pakistan’s stance regarding the India fixture, Naqvi had struck a defiant tone. In doing so, he invoked Munir directly, declaring that neither he nor the Government of Pakistan was intimidated. He had added that “Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir never gets afraid.”
In Pakistan, it is the Army that calls the shots and the comment, made without prior military clearance, has reportedly not gone down well in Rawalpindi, as reported by News18.
Munir was apparently displeased at being drawn into what should have remained a cricketing and administrative matter. In Pakistan’s political structure, the unauthorised use of the military chief’s name in a politically charged sporting context is being viewed as overreach.
Things may have panned out differently had the Pakistan cricket team put up a better performance against arch rivals India, but the 61 run defeat in a T20 match, seems to have further intensified matters.
Sources have said that the Army leadership viewed the result as more than just a sporting disappointment. For many in Pakistan’s establishment, cricket against India is intertwined with national prestige and geopolitical rivalry. The perception that the team was ill-prepared – combined with rhetoric that risked escalating tensions – has reportedly fueled frustration.
Munir apparently conveyed his concerns to prime minister Shehbaz Sharif through the PM’s military secretary, sources have said. The message is said to have highlighted what the military chief considers mishandling within the PCB, ranging from team preparation issues to unnecessarily combative public statements.
If sources are to be believed, speculation is now swirling in Islamabad about Naqvi’s future. Some government insiders do not rule out the possibility that Sharif could consider changes at the PCB to ease tensions and signal responsiveness to military concerns.
Naqvi has also faced flak from former cricketers, including pacer Shoaib Akhtar. He labelled Naqvi as “incompetent” and “jaahil” (ignorant) on live TV in his post-match remarks.
“Now one guy who does not know anything has become the Pakistan Cricket Board’s chairman. How will the team run now? You’ve made him a superstar – he can’t win a single match… The biggest crime in the world is to give a big job to an incompetent and ignorant person,” Akhtar said.
