The top officials within Pakistan are not content with the performance of the Pakistan cricket team against arch-rival India in the T20 World Cup 2026 Group A fixture on Sunday at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The 61-run loss has made the field marshal, Asim Munir, fuming and “upset”.
Match results
Suryakumar Yadav's India won Pakistan comfortably without breaking a sweat on Sunday. The Indian cricket team registered a comprehensive victory to seal a place in the Super 8s. Pakistan started well, and the loss of Abhishek Sharma in the first over helped Pakistan get the best chance of defeating India; however, the action on the 22 yards proved once again that the difference between the two teams is chalk and cheese in terms of quality.
Munir is unhappy
According to a News18 report, Pakistan's top military official, Munir, is not content with the cricket team's performance against India. The report said that the army leadership in Pakistan looked at the match result as more than just a cricket disappointment. There is a perspective that the team was not fully prepared for the contest, and this idea hasn't gone down well with Munir.
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The report further stated that Munir communicated his concerns to the Pakistan PM, Shehbaz Sharif, through the Prime Minister’s Military Secretary. The message reportedly accentuates the PCB's lack of a proper idea of cricket matters, ranging from team preparation issues to unnecessarily combative public statements. Naqvi's future as PCB chief has come under question.
Munir's relationship with Naqvi
The Government of Pakistan had declared a boycott of the India game. However, there was a change of plans about eight days later, after the ICC announced that Bangladesh would not be sanctioned for skipping the T20 World Cup and not travelling to India.
Naqvi struck a rebellious reminder when asked about the possibility of being sanctioned if Pakistan didn't play against India. During his response, he mustered Munir, mentioning that neither he nor the Government of Pakistan were intimidated, saying, “Everyone knows our Field Marshal Asir Munir."
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The unnecessary use of the army chief's name in the sporting viewpoint is being observed as a mis-mentioning in Pakistan's political structure, where the military has significant influence over civilian affairs.
Naqvi was also a part of the attendance for the T20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan. Though he had to leave the stadium midway after seeing Pakistan's horrendous batting.
