Rashid Latif Criticizes PCB After Lord’s Defeat: ‘Worst Board in 70 Years’
The numbers were brutal enough. A 194-run defeat at Lord’s, a second straight thrashing in a three-Test series, and a Pakistan side that has yet to crawl past 200 in an innings on this tour of England.
But it was the verdict from within Pakistan’s own cricketing fraternity that truly stung.
Former captain Rashid Latif, never one to pull his punches, launched a blistering attack on the Pakistan Cricket Board and its chairman Mohsin Naqvi, insisting the crisis runs far deeper than a misfiring batting order or a fragile touring squad.
‘Worst team in 50 years? Worst board in 70’
British media have not held back, labelling this current outfit “the worst Pakistan side in the last 50 years.” Latif did not dispute that assessment. He simply widened the scope of the blame.
Speaking on Geo News, the former wicketkeeper-batter turned his sights firmly on the game’s administrators.
“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.
For him, the rot is systemic, not just technical.
“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.
It was a remarkable, unvarnished indictment of the current regime, delivered at a moment when Pakistan cricket is already reeling from on-field humiliation and off-field noise.
Batting in ruins
On the field, the story has been painfully straightforward. Pakistan’s batting has collapsed in every innings of the series so far. Not once have they crossed 200, a damning statistic in modern Test cricket, especially on largely fair English surfaces.
Babar Azam’s return for the Lord’s Test was supposed to steady the ship. Instead, it underlined just how deep the problems run.
The captain endured a miserable match, scraping scores of 8 and 6. In the second innings, Jofra Archer exposed him ruthlessly, thundering in with a vicious bouncer that left Babar groping, looking uncertain and, for a fleeting moment, distinctly out of his depth.
That image – Pakistan’s best batter flinching under a short ball at the home of cricket – felt symbolic. A side once feared for its flair and resilience now looks brittle, tentative, and perpetually on the back foot.
Storm off the field
All of this unfolded against a fraught backdrop.
The Lord’s Test carried an extra layer of tension after reports emerged that the PCB had threatened to pull Pakistan out of the match. The flashpoint came when Sky Sports aired an 18-minute interview with the sons of Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain and Prime Minister, who is currently in jail.
In that segment, they spoke at length about his conditions behind bars, a broadcast that reportedly caused uproar in Pakistan and triggered anger within certain quarters of the cricket establishment.
The noise grew loud enough that questions surfaced over whether Pakistan would even take the field at Lord’s. Those suggestions were eventually knocked down by the dressing room itself. Both Babar Azam and head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed publicly denied that the PCB had considered withdrawing from the Test.
Still, the fact that such a scenario even entered the conversation underlined the volatility surrounding this tour. While England went about their business clinically, Pakistan seemed engulfed in distraction and disarray.
Edgbaston looming
Now the series moves to Edgbaston, Birmingham, where the third and final Test begins on September 9. England, already dominant, will smell the chance to close out a clean sweep. Pakistan, wounded and under fire from their own legends, face a harsher reality.
Latif’s words hang heavy over the team and its guardians. This isn’t just about a misfiring top order or a captain short of runs. His accusation is far more scalding: that the structure meant to protect and nurture Pakistan cricket has instead “ruined this team.”
The scoreboard at Lord’s told one story. The fallout in Pakistan tells another. Edgbaston will show whether this side has any fight left – and whether anyone in power is truly listening.
