Aaqib Javed gives bizarre excuse for Pakistan downfall [Source: AFP]From 2020-2022, Pakistan cricket was at an all-time high, especially in white-ball cricket. They had a new leader in Babar Azam, and the team did well across formats. The Men in Green reached the T20 World Cup semis in 2021, and the finals in 2022, as the trajectory was going upwards.However, their downfall in the last three years needs to be studied. From reaching the finals in 2022, to crashing out of the group stage in the 2023 World Cup, 2024 T20 World Cup, and 2025 Champions Trophy, Pakistan cricket went downhill.Aaqib Javed gives excuses for Pakistan's failureIn between, the team has won a couple of series, but if one looks at the bigger picture, Pakistan cricket needs a rebuild. However, it seems Pakistan Cricket Board Director High Performance and selector Aaqib Javed has a different viewpoint, as the former player is stubborn, and believes that a few losses here and there don’t mean that Pakistan cricket is going downhill.Javed is one of PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi's hand-picked persons in the selection committee, but recently, his remarks have been bizarre when asked about Pakistan cricket's decline."We won the Test series against England, which no one expected. In Australia, we won the ODI series after 27 years, after that we beat South Africa 3–0, which no one had been able to do until now. We also fought well in the Test series. In the 2025 CT there was an incident, but before that the team’s performance was going fine. Even now, if you look at it, we have won series against SA, Australia & SL. Not being able to beat India in the World Cup is not an excuse, the result there is 8–0, & even the world’s best captains have played from 1975 to 2026, so set that aside. Also Read: Basit Ali Tears Into Salman Agha For 'Zero Awareness' After Controversial Run-OutAaqib Javed gives bizarre reason for Pakistan's T20 World Cup exitHe gave excuses that Pakistan crashed out of the T20 World Cup, not due to their poor performance, but because rain ruined their chances against the Kiwis in Super 8."In the Super 8 stage, one match was washed out due to rain and we lost one match, nothing else happened. Against Sri Lanka, winning by that margin wasn’t achievable. We lost only one match. We were eliminated only on net run rate. Making it such a huge issue is too much. It’s a big issue, but not so big that our cricket is destroyed or that we can’t compete anywhere in the world."In the Super 8 stage, Pakistan’s match against the Kiwis was washed out, and they lost to England, courtesy of a Harry Brook century. Then, against Sri Lanka, the team won the game by 5 runs, but they failed to overhaul New Zealand’s net run-rate.How Pakistan cricket has gone downwards in last 3 yearsBy the start of 2023, Pakistan had a strong ODI side, and they were expected to do well in the 50-overs World Cup, but that didn’t happen as the Babar Azam-led side crashed out in the group stage. In the T20 World Cup next year, the same story was repeated, and the trend continued in the Champions Trophy at home, where the team witnessed another group stage exit.While a lot of blame has to be on the players, PCB is also to be blamed as they have constantly chopped and changed the coaching and selection department, and the players have been put under constant scrutiny.Take, for example, the ongoing ODI series against Bangladesh. Saim Ayub was doing well in the ODIs, but he had a poor T20 World Cup 2026. Instead of dropping him from the T20Is, or giving him confidence, the selectors decided to drop him from his best format- the ODIs.This has resulted in poor performances, and selectors not holding themselves accountable for the poor selection process.Also Read: Babar Azam Injured Before PSL 2026, PCB Official Issues Shocking Update
