Poor outcomes, instability, chaos: What’s flawed with Pakistan cricket? | Cricket Information

Adeyemi Adeyemi

International Courant

Beneath gray skies on the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, veteran Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al Hasan defeated Pakistani leg-spin bowler Abrar Ahmed with a boundary to present his group a six-wicket victory within the second Take a look at match and safe a historic first males’s Take a look at collection win over the house aspect.

Shakib punched the air and hugged his teammate Mushfiqur Rahim as the remainder of their teammates rushed to the bottom to hitch within the celebrations on Tuesday afternoon. Earlier than the collection, Bangladesh had misplaced 12 of the 13 matches between the 2 groups.

As Pakistan captain Shan Masood and his group took to the sector, the darkish clouds mirrored the gloom surrounding Pakistani cricket. The boys’s group had simply been cleaned in a house Take a look at collection for the second time of their historical past.

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Pakistan haven’t gained a Take a look at match at residence since February 2021 – a run of 10 matches and not using a win.

Bangladesh followers have fun as they watch their group transfer nearer to victory within the second Take a look at match in opposition to Pakistan on the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium (Aamir Qureshi/AFP)

What went flawed with the Pakistan cricket group?

Pakistan could traditionally be one of many best cricketers, however their current performances have declined considerably throughout all codecs of the sport. Their triumphant runs on the ICC Males’s 50-over World Cup in 1992 and the T20 World Cup in 2009 are a distant reminiscence.

Be it defeats in opposition to lower-ranked groups in bilateral collection or stunning outcomes at world occasions, Pakistani cricket followers have seen all of it prior to now few years.

Pakistan’s final notable look got here in November 2022 on the T20 World Cup in Australia, the place they ultimately misplaced a one-sided last in opposition to England.

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What are Pakistan’s outcomes since November 2022?

Pakistan did not progress past the primary spherical of the 2024 T20 World Cup, infamously dropping to the American cricket newcomers, who certified for the match solely as one of many co-hosts.

Within the run-up to the match, Pakistan misplaced their first T20 match in opposition to Eire.

On the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India, Pakistan misplaced 5 of their 9 matches and have been knocked out of the match within the group stage.

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Pakistan have gained certainly one of their final 5 Take a look at collection, away to Sri Lanka in July 2023.

In figures:

Exams: 12 performed, 2 gained, 8 misplaced, 2 drawn
ODIs: Performed 25, Received 14, Misplaced 10, No End result 1 T20s: Performed 54, Received 25, Misplaced 26, Drawn 1, No End result 2

Can somebody clarify why Pakistan is so poor?

It is robust, however Al Jazeera requested Micky Arthur, who was Pakistan’s nationwide coach from 2016 to 2019 and can take over as group director in 2023.

Arthur believes that Pakistan has no scarcity of “high quality gamers”.

“There are some unimaginable gamers (in Pakistan’s aspect) however what the group lacks is stability,” Arthur stated moments after Pakistan’s loss within the second Take a look at.

“Stability comes from the highest: in group choice, consistency in participant roles and ensuring every participant understands his function,” he defined.

“The instability in Pakistan cricket creates chaos and the gamers find yourself enjoying for themselves as a result of they don’t know what the subsequent regime has in thoughts. It breeds mediocrity.”

What is that this ‘instability’?

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has undergone a shake-up since late 2022 when then-chairman Ramiz Raja was sacked by the federal authorities. The nation’s cricket governing physique has since been led by three chairmen, every of whom has introduced a collection of adjustments to the backroom workers and group management.

The present head of the PCB, Mohsin Naqvi, has been in cost since February 6 and likewise serves as Pakistan’s Inside Minister.

How has this affected the group’s captaincy?

Pakistan’s shameful elimination from the group stage of the ODI World Cup in November was adopted by the sacking of their all-format captain Babar Azam.

The PCB determined to separate the captaincy function and gave cost of the Take a look at group to Masood, whereas quick bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was given cost of the T20.

Nevertheless, when Naqvi took over as PCB chairman, he dismissed Afridi after only one collection and reinstated Babar.

As for the captaincy of the ODI competitors, the difficulty continues to be unsure as Pakistan has not performed on this format since November.

Babar Azam was reappointed as T20 captain in March after stepping down from the function in November (File: Glyn Kirk/AFP)

How many individuals have coached Pakistan since November 2022?

Seven! In chronological order they’re: Saqlain Mushtaq, Abdul Rehman (interim coach), Grant Bradburn, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Mahmood (interim coach), Gary Kirsten (present white-ball coach) and Jason Gillespie (present red-ball coach).

Arthur was Pakistan’s coach when the group gained the final ICC title, the ICC Champions Trophy, in 2017. He believes the revolving door coverage has had a unfavourable impact on the group.

“Completely different coaches convey totally different concepts and have totally different roles for the gamers,” stated the 56-year-old former South Africa coach.

“It creates uncertainty, inconsistency and forces gamers to play for themselves,” Arthur stated.

Which large names are underperforming?

Babar, Afridi and Shadab Khan.

Arthur believes these three are “undoubtedly excellent gamers” however that they’ll solely be judged on their type.

“Generally gamers are so busy interested by what’s occurring round them as a substitute of specializing in their type,” Arthur stated.

In Take a look at cricket, Babar and Afridi’s numbers have taken a giant hit, whereas former vice-captain and limited-overs specialist Shadab has did not dwell as much as expectations in ICC occasions. Listed below are their cross-format numbers since 2023:

Babar Azam (batsman)

Matches: 57 Innings: 61 Runs: 2,172 Highest Rating: 151 Common 37.44 Strike Share 88.25 100s: 3 50s: 16

Shaheen Shah Afridi (bowling)

Matches: 49 Innings: 54 Wickets: 96 Finest bowling figures: 5-54 Common: 24.19 Financial system ratio: 5.1 Strike charge: 28.4 5-wicket hauls: 1

Shadab Khan (all-round)

Matches: 37 Runs: 462 Highest rating: 48 Batting common: 18.48 100s: 0 50s: 0 Wickets: 24 Finest bowling figures: 4-27 Bowling common: 48.41 5-wicket hauls: 0 Shaheen Shah Afridi was rested for the second Take a look at in opposition to Bangladesh after a poor collection (Anjum Naveed/AP)

How did the captain react to the defeat?

Masood, the Take a look at captain, stated he was “extraordinarily disillusioned” after the loss to Bangladesh.

He summed it up as follows: “We have been excited in regards to the residence season. It is the identical story as in Australia and we did not be taught our classes. We thought we have been enjoying good cricket in Australia however we did not. That is one thing we have to work on. It is occurred 4 instances in my tenure that we let the opposition come again into the sport after we had dominated.”

5 losses in 5 Exams with Masood as captain. Ought to he step down?

Masood has struggled along with his batting type since taking up as Take a look at captain, having made 286 runs in 5 matches and hitting three half-centuries with a excessive rating of 60.

However the tall left-handed hitter is not in charge – not totally, in accordance with Arthur.

“Shan Masood will probably be an excellent captain however he must be given time to develop his main function as a goalscorer,” stated the South African coach.

“That is the place the coaches and help workers are available.

“They want to have the ability to take that stress off him so he can carry out on the pitch. When a captain has confidence in his personal recreation and feels supported, he in the end performs significantly better.”

Arthur stated Masood is the “proper particular person” who is usually a excellent captain if given the time and help.

Pakistan captain Shan Masood has been in poor type since taking up the function (Aamir Qureshi/AFP)

How did the PCB Chairman reply?

Naqvi predicted extra adjustments after Pakistan’s loss to India on the T20 World Cup in June, calling the transfer itself an “operation”.

And after the loss within the first Take a look at match in opposition to Bangladesh, he stated: “The issue is that the choice committee (of the group) doesn’t have a bunch of gamers to select from.

“I talked about surgical procedure as a result of we have to clear up our issues, however after we take a look at tips on how to clear up them, we don’t have a pool of gamers to attract from. The entire system was a multitude.”


Poor outcomes, instability, chaos: What’s flawed with Pakistan cricket? | Cricket Information

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