Former Pakistan Prime Minister and ex-captain of the national cricket team, Imran Khan, is reportedly disappointed with the team’s performance in the ongoing Champions Trophy, according to his sister Aleema Khan. Speaking to the media outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where Imran Khan is currently imprisoned, Aleema Khan stated that he believes cricket in Pakistan is being completely destroyed.

The Pakistan team, which hosted the tournament, suffered back-to-back defeats, leading to its early exit. Pakistan first lost to New Zealand in Karachi, followed by a defeat against India in Dubai, making it the first team to be eliminated from the tournament.

“The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder was deeply upset over the loss against India,” Aleema Khan said after meeting Imran Khan in jail. She also mentioned that he had questioned the standards of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) under its chairman Mohsin Naqvi. “Imran Khan believes that when decision-making positions are filled with people acting arbitrarily, cricket will ultimately be destroyed,” she added.

She further revealed that Imran Khan had watched the much-anticipated match between Pakistan and India. Imran Khan is widely remembered for leading Pakistan to victory in the 1992 ICC Cricket World Cup.

Meanwhile, Najam Sethi, former PCB chairman who served from December 2022 to June 2023, indirectly blamed Imran Khan for Pakistan cricket’s decline. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he stated that fans’ anger over the national team’s performance was justified. He lamented Pakistan’s early exit from the Champions Trophy, adding that the country’s cricketing future was now uncertain. Sethi also suggested that the current team could no longer be expected to deliver the kind of outstanding performances seen in the past.