"Sack everyone the day the tournament starts off" - Michael Vaughan says Pakistan need controversy to win

Former England captain Michael Vaughan said he's "worried" about Pakistan's upcoming match against New Zealand because there hasn't been any controversy like a resignation or a chat leak in the lead-up to it.

Vaughan said this while quote-tweeting a video interview with Adam Gilchrist on the Australian's YouTube channel. Even in the video, the Englishman talked about how Pakistan's success at World Cups has had a long history of controversies.

Vaughan even joked about how the team should consider firing all officials before the tournament starts and it might help them win more matches.

"If you go back to the history of the World Cup, the World Cup doesn't start untill there's controversy with Pakistan," he said in the video. "Until someone falls-out... I don't understand why don't they sack everyone the day the tournament starts off. Everyone resigns... they'd win every World Cup. What are they waiting for?"

In his quote-tweet, Vaughan wrote:

"I worry about Pakistan tomorrow .. it’s been too calm this last couple of days .. they need someone to resign today or leak a what’s app message .. #CWC23 #Pakistan 😜"

Vaughan was pointing at a series of incidents that have happened in recent weeks which have put the Men in Green in a bad spotlight.

These include the resignation of their chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, who's also a former captain, a vaguely written press release from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) regarding the ongoing performances, and the leak of a private conversation between captain Babar Azam and the board's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Salman Naseer.

All came in the middle of the tournament after the team lost four matches on the trot. Soon after the chaos though, Babar and company registered a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh.

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Michael Vaughan quips on the conflict of interest controversy

Inzamam, in his resignation statement, said he was stepping down to allow the PCB to investigate the conflict of interest allegations against him in the media.

Inzamam is allegedly a shareholder of "Yazo International Limited," a company whose owner is an agent for some top first-team members. Social media chatter also linked the issue to the selection of Inzamam's nephew Imam-ul-Haq, who hasn't been able to perform as expected in the 2023 World Cup.

Vaughan found it ludicrous that the issue wasn't noticed at the time of the appointment.

"When they gave him the chairmanship of selectors, I am pretty sure he would have been related to Imam ul Haq (laughs)," he said.

Pakistan and New Zealand will lock horns from 10:30 a.m. IST at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Saturday.