Rashid Latif Slams PCB After Lord's Defeat: 'Worst Board in 70 Years'

Rashid Latif has never been shy of a hard truth. After Pakistan’s 194‑run hammering at Lord’s, he didn’t just question the players. He went straight for the Pakistan Cricket Board – and its chairman Mohsin Naqvi – with a ferocity that matched England’s dominance on the field.

The defeat, Pakistan’s second in a three‑match series, has exposed a touring side that has barely laid a glove on England. Babar Azam’s men have been outplayed, out-thought and, in Latif’s words, badly let down from above.

British media have already branded this the “worst Pakistan side in the last 50 years.” Latif, speaking on Geo News, did not dispute that damning label. He simply widened the lens.

“Everyone is talking about the Pakistan team, and how it is the worst touring team in the last 50 years,” he said. “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.”

That was the crux of his anger. For Latif, the rot is structural. A broken system, he argued, has produced a broken team.

“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, leaving no room for ambiguity.

A batting lineup in freefall

On the field, the numbers tell their own story. Across the series, Pakistan have not crossed 200 even once. In modern Test cricket, that is not just poor – it is non‑competitive.

The top order has folded repeatedly, exposing a middle order short on form and confidence. The expectation was that Babar Azam’s return for the second Test would steady the innings and restore some authority at the crease.

Instead, Lord’s turned into a personal nightmare for the captain.

He managed scores of 8 and 6, never looking settled, never imposing himself. In the second innings, Jofra Archer went after him with pace and hostility. One brutal bouncer left Babar groping, his technique and composure suddenly that of a novice rather than one of the game’s premier batters. It summed up Pakistan’s tour: tentative, reactive, overwhelmed.

Storm off the field

All of this unfolded against an uneasy backdrop.

Before the Lord’s Test, reports emerged that the PCB had threatened to pull Pakistan out of the match. The flashpoint was an 18‑minute Sky Sports interview with the sons of Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain and Prime Minister, who spoke about his conditions in jail. The broadcast caused a stir back home and, according to those reports, riled officials in Lahore.

The noise around that alleged threat grew loud enough to demand a response. Babar Azam and head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed both publicly denied that the PCB had considered withdrawing from the Test. They insisted the focus remained on cricket.

Latif’s comments cut through that off‑field drama. For him, the real scandal is not a TV interview or a media storm, but a cricket structure he believes has abandoned its core duty: building a competitive national side.

Edgbaston awaits

There is still one Test to play. England and Pakistan head to Edgbaston, Birmingham, for the third and final match starting September 9. For England, it is a chance to close out a series they have dominated. For Pakistan, it is something far more basic.

Can this team, battered on the scoreboard and savaged by one of its own former captains, find any response at all?