A collage exhibiting Pakistan’s Take a look at head coach Azhar Mahmood (left) and former skipper Misbah Ul Haq. — AFP/File
A day after former all-rounder Azhar Mahmood was appointed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as males’s appearing red-ball head coach, ex-Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has made startling claims relating to his new position with the crew.
The PCB formally confirmed Mahmood’s appointment on Monday, stating that the 50-year-old will function appearing red-ball head coach till the conclusion of his present contract in April 2026.
The previous all-rounder, who signed a two-year cope with the PCB in April 2024, has beforehand served because the nationwide facet’s assistant coach.Â
Below his management, Pakistan will start their ICC World Take a look at Championship (WTC) 2025–27 marketing campaign with a two-match dwelling collection towards South Africa in October-November, adopted by a two-match away collection towards Bangladesh in March-April 2026.
Showing on an area YouTube channel, Ali disclosed that Misbah-ul-Haq was initially set to turn out to be the top coach, in keeping with Geo Tremendous.
Nevertheless, a shift in preferences throughout the PCB hierarchy, notably votes of help from Director of Excessive Efficiency Aqib Javed and T20I captain Salman Ali Agha, led to Mahmood’s appointment as an alternative.
“Misbah was about to become the head coach, but things change with the wind. Now, considering what Javed said and what captain Salman Ali Agha said, [Azhar] Mahmood has been made the red-ball coach — I’m telling you this with authenticity, otherwise Misbah had already been finalised as coach,” Basit acknowledged.
“It’s because of [Salman Ali] Agha’s vote that Mahmood was given the role of interim coach. Some things are like that — we can’t speak about them openly; we also have to be considerate,” he added.
The 54-year-old additionally criticised the inconsistent strategy taken by the PCB in teaching appointments, questioning the extended delay within the official announcement and the unequal therapy of mentors who have been beforehand let go.
“This delay that’s been happening — as you just mentioned, Mahmood’s contract is until April 2026 — well, the mentors also had a three-year contract. So what happened? Why were they sidelined after being paid off?” he questioned.
He emphasised the necessity for consistency and equity in decision-making, highlighting that if early terminations have been acceptable in a single case, they need to be equally utilized throughout the board.
“If you’re using a scale of fairness, it should be applied equally to everyone. You didn’t let the mentors work for three years. If you intended to remove them, you could have done the same here — paid one or two months’ salary and let them go,” he concluded.
