End Of The Road For Aaqib Javed! Mohsin Naqvi's PCB Plans Major Overhaul

Mohsin Naqvi's PCB is planning to sack Aaqib Javed amid chaos in Pakistan cricket [Source: AFP]

After the removal of seven players and two coaching staff members, the Pakistan Cricket Board is now looking at another wider clean-up as part of a complete overhaul of the organisation. As per recent reports, Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chief, is looking to remove Aaqib Javed, a key figure from the core structure, to revamp the entire unit. 

Earlier, Misbah-ul-Haq resigned from his position as a selector, and now the Naqvi-led committee is contemplating another major exit from the same category.

Aaqib Javed likely to be removed as PCB chief selector

As it is understood, Aaqib Javed's powers are said to have been curtailed by the PCB, while he has been overseeing most of the cricketing matters within the board. 

The chief selector is now set to be removed from the national selection committee. Some PCB sources indicate that Aaqib is quite close to Mohsin Naqvi and has survived all kinds of major interrogations and investigations over the last couple of years. 

However, after the committee issued show-cause notices to Misbah-ul-Haq and Aaqib Javed over the inclusion of Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan in the West Indies and England tours, it is now evident that Javed is set to lose some of his powers.

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"Aaqib, who is considered the blue-eyed boy of the chairman, is also likely to be told to just focus on his role as Director Development at the Lahore High Performance Centre," the well-informed source told PTI.

What will Aaqib Javed do if he exits the selection chair role?

Javed, who has been a controversial figure in Pakistan cricket, had ties with the board for a long time. He joined the PCB hierarchy in October 2024 and gradually worked his way up from being a senior member of the men's national selection committee to becoming the chair of the apex unit. 

However, following reports of his removal from selection duties, Aaqib Javed is reportedly set to focus on his role as the Director of High Performance and Development at PCB's High Performance Centre in Lahore. 

While Javed's working portfolio was previously spread across the cricket board, his sole focus would now be on elite talent identification for Pakistan, skill enhancement and player rehabilitation at the High Performance Centre. 

For the uninitiated, the Lahore centre facilitates elite camps and match simulations and nurtures grassroots and emerging talent through specialised skill clinics. 

Rehabilitation and recovery are also major parts of player conditioning, with state-of-the-art facilities such as advanced practice infrastructure, bio mechanical and data analysis labs also present at the centre.

Aaqib Javed's roller coaster ride as PCB chief selector

In October 2024, Javed entered the PCB setup. Following his January 2007 appointment as the chief coach of the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, he was selected as a senior member of the men's national selection committee in 2024. 

Under Aaqib Javed's tenure since 2024, the Pakistan cricket team has shown impressive performances across formats. In total, across 100 matches in red-ball and white-ball cricket, Pakistan has managed to win 53 games while losing 46, giving them a win percentage of 53%.

Interestingly, just two years before Javed's arrival, Pakistan struggled across formats, winning only 33 of the 78 matches they played, resulting in a win percentage of 42.30%.

Soon after, in November, he was named the interim white-ball head coach of the Pakistan men's national team following the resignation of Gary Kirsten.

In December, the PCB named him the interim red-ball coach as well, following Jason Gillespie's exit, and Aaqib Javed held the role until early 2025. On May 13, he was appointed by Mohsin Naqvi as the Director of High Performance at the Lahore centre, which will now be his primary professional role in the coming days if he is sidelined from the selection committee.

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