Akhtar was not surprised by the sweeping changes midway through the England tour.
Pakistan suffered crushing defeats in the first two Tests—by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley, followed by a 194-run rout at Lord's. This handed England an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Following the debacle, the PCB took the unprecedented step of sending seven players home, including senior names like Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha.
Red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were also relieved of their duties, with white-ball head coach Mike Hesson being given the backroom responsibilities for the rest of the England tour.
Seven players, including five uncapped, have been added to the squad ahead of the third and final Test at Edgbaston starting September 9.
The drastic mid-tour purge has triggered immense backlash. However, former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar was not surprised by the turn of events and that a PCB official had told him that Pakistan cricket was “on a ventilator”.
“The PCB itself was very disappointed by these people and they don’t expect anything from this Pakistan squad. The plan is to remove this squad and replace them with younger and newer blood. Players who just want to play for Pakistan. They are looking at the future now and they are working at it in the right way,” Akhtar said on the OutSide EDGE show.
Amidst the heavy transition, Akhtar urged the board to protect and preserve the careers of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf, stating that they still have plenty of cricket left in them if managed correctly.
“In this transition, I just want Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf’s careers to be saved. These guys have a lot of cricket left in them,” he added.
The Rawalpindi Express revealed the PCB official explicitly told him that they expect "nothing" from the current squad touring England and are instead focusing entirely on developing the next generation of players for big stage.
Akhtar stated that the PCB estimates it will take at least two years of systemic revival to fix the team's deeper structural issues.
When asked if the Pakistan cricket team looked like it was in a state of shambles, a cynical Akhtar replied: “What is the shock there? Didn’t you expect that?”
When the host told Akhtar that Pakistan had failed compete at Headingley and Lord’s, he said: “We didn’t have the fight in us.”