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And so it begins..... the decline of the Pakistan Test team?

S

Saj

PakPassion Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 1, 2001
Runs
96,138
5 losses in a row
Younis Khan in decline
Misbah coming to the end of his Test career

Many said that the Pakistan Test team would go the way of the One-Day and IT20 teams and perhaps that decline is now in progress?

Worrying signs and many would say a bleak outlook?
 
Poor domestic pitches that are low, slow and green and not promoting strokeplayers or fast bowlers.

A bunch of timid cricketers that have become more exposed as mentally frailer.

A lack of polished talent with bat and ball.

The PCB is full of fatcats who don't know or care about cricket.

Pakistani cricket is dead.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think we will be fine. There is a nucleus of a good team. Pakistan cricket is yet to die despite previous retirements
 
I'm really disappointed at our team right now but I have a feeling they will come back. This is the same team that got to number 1 without any home games. We should not give up on this team yet.
 
There is no decline. We are just like any other team. Good at home but poor away from home. This same Pakistan team will trash the same Australia team 3-0 in UAE. Enough of this doom and gloom already please.
 
I think we will be like many Test sides nowadays -- great at home and struggle away. We will be strong at "home" (i.e. the UAE) but will be found out elsewhere.
That's what made the recent series draw with England so special.
England are good at home, when the ball is seaming, but struggle otherwise. We are good on low, spinning tracks but will struggle on wickets with bounce and movement.
 
Depends.

If we are playing most of our games in the UAE in 2017 and 2018 then we will be fine. Azhar and Asad will carry our batting.

Also Yasir will be more effective in Asia. So we should be okay unless we got games in SA next year.
 
Get Aus or Eng touring UAE. Situation will look different.
 
Agree with the posters here, just like nearly every other team who plays Test Cricket, we can thrash teams at home that we would get thrashed by away. Unlike sports like Football, the home advantage is massive as it's not just psychological.
 
Not necessarily, we're still a world class team that has joined the leagues with others. We've had highs and lows, every team goes through that. We'll slaughter this same Aus team in the UAE.
 
Over reaction
Failure in NZ n Aus was expected. This was first time in 6-7 years to play test series there.

We ll b pretty good once we are back in comfort zone.

Didn't Aus lost 5 tests in a row?
Didn' England lost 5 tests out of their last 7 tests?
 
We have had an unreliable team in away conditions for years.

Our batting is so flimsy that if the top order fails under pressure, the tail mostly never saves us.

We have barely had any world class players since Wasim retired.
 
Well let's look at the fixtures for 2017. West Indies away, Bangladesh away and Sri Lanka in UAE.

Obviously one cannot take them lightly, Bangladesh especially are much improved, but it is a good set of fixtures to bed youngsters before the tough 2018 tours of England and South Africa.

Despite the wrist slitting on here since the MCG fifth day debacle, there are still some good players to build around - Azhar, Shafiq, Sarfraz, Yasir to name a few.

Hopefully we can avoid a Sri Lanka-like dip if we get the replacements for Younis and Misbah right.
 
Australia were smashed in Sri Lanka, India and UAE. England were also smashed in UAE and India. South Africa escaped with a draw in UAE, not withstanding the zip cheating and were beaten in India easily.

Every team is great at home and poor away, there is no decline. We'd beat the same Aussie team in UAE easily.
 
It was inevitable that we'd lose in Australia but I thought we'd be better than losing in such a manner . But what's more worrying is how we got thrashed by New Zealand, despite having such a good record there over the years. Our pacers are awful; a country with a population of 4 million producers better pacers and more of them too. Need to sort our domestic pitches and stop playing in the UAE otherwise nothing's changing.
 
No decline when you put it that way, but the myth that Pakistan is the best Test team in the world has been ripped apart.
 
Playing Australia in Australia has always been a disaster for Pakistan.

As for the New Zealand series, preparation was literally zero, so will give them the benefit of the doubt.

Need to find replacements for 2 of the bowlers, Rahat/Wahab/Sohail aren't opening bowlers at test level, they are at best 3rd/4th seamer material.

Batting wise, obviously 2 big holes to fill, that would be the concern.

Azhar, Shafiq, Sarfaraz, Amir, Yasir mainstay

Babar, Sami, need to come to the party soon plus replacements for Misbah/Younis.

Next year would be ideal to try out the newcomers (as the schedule is moderate but not top tier)
 
when you don't give chances to domestic performers or any good youngster how do you expect a polished player , players don't fall from tree . my top 7 for West Indies:-
1. sami aslam
2. azhar Ali
3. Babar azam
4. usman salahuddin
5. asad shafiq
6. M Rizwan/ fawad alam
7. sarfraz ahmed
 
You're all over analysing this series
It's just a bad patch, get over it

For heaven sakes we were number one in the world not so long ago
 
Put one or two attacking bastmen in place of misbah and younis, get sharjeel to open in tests....get a decent bowling coach, put asif back in the team and this team will start challenging the best
 
chacha kashmiri said:
You're all over analysing this series
It's just a bad patch, get over it

For heaven sakes we were number one in the world not so long ago
Click to expand...

It's not just about this series though is it. 5 losses in a row........
 
Glad that Misbah and his team have been exposed before he gets kicked out.
 
Mamoon said:
No decline when you put it that way, but the myth that Pakistan is the best Test team in the world has been ripped apart.
Click to expand...

It isn't a myth. But I do agree with you that there is no decline.

Drew with England in England, won more sessions. With hero's such as Yasir, Khan and Misbah making fool out of haters.
Lost to AUS in AUS 2-1, could have won the series were it not for rain and lack of preparation.
Destroyed ATG teams such as England and AUS in the UAE.
Remain Undefeated in a Test Series in the UAE.
Only recently EARNED the no.1 ranking before it was handed to home track champions.

The future is bright, we have a fantastic world champion core group in Yasir,Sarfraz, Shafiq and Azhar. Will need to carefully develop the likes of Babar Azam, Sami Aslam, Hammad Azam, Asghar, Mir Hamza, Hasan Ali and Nawaz just to name a few whilst giving them a long rope in no time will we make up for the loss of Khan/Misbah in preparation for the tough tours in 2018. Should also keep an eye on Akmal, Shehzad and Asif; if they perform well at the FC level consistently and behave well no reason why they should not be given an opportunity.

We're very blessed, think people need to calm down.
 
Be interesting to hear from Pak fans about the likely make up of XI after YK and Misbah hang their boots. Not asking their favourites but the likely XI.
 
In all honestly for Test we need a good balance of attack and defence. We can't have a team full of grinders. With the retirement of Misbah and Younus we should invest in two players who can rotate the strike with a good defence game. Also ocassionally go over the top. Asad, Azhar, and Sami are good enough to be our grinders. We need Sharjeel and Haris.
 
street cricketer said:
Be interesting to hear from Pak fans about the likely make up of XI after YK and Misbah hang their boots. Not asking their favourites but the likely XI.
Click to expand...

UAE/subcontinent:

Sami Aslam
Azhar Ali
Babar Azam
Asad Shafiq
Fawad Alam
Sarfraz (c) (wk)
Nawaz
Amir
Yasir
Wahab
Asghar

Away:

Sami Aslam
Azhar Ali
Babar Azam
Asad Shafiq
Umar Akmal / Fakhar Zaman
Sarfraz (c) (wk)
Hammad Azam
Amir
Yasir
Wahab
Asif / Ehsan Adil / Hassan Ali
 
shaz619 said:
UAE/subcontinent:

Sami Aslam
Azhar Ali
Babar Azam
Asad Shafiq
Fawad Alam
Sarfraz (c) (wk)
Nawaz
Amir
Yasir
Wahab
Asghar

Away:

Sami Aslam
Azhar Ali
Babar Azam
Asad Shafiq
Umar Akmal / Fakhar Zaman
Sarfraz (c) (wk)
Hammad Azam
Amir
Yasir
Wahab
Asif / Ehsan Adil / Hassan Ali
Click to expand...

Do you really think Umar will get selected? Has he done anything of note in the domestic lately?

And isn't Fakhar an opener?
 
street cricketer said:
Do you really think Umar will get selected? Has he done anything of note in the domestic lately?

And isn't Fakhar an opener?
Click to expand...

He played a couple of FC games and averaged 60, he wont be selected anytime soon but remains an option. Fakhar is an opener but the current slots are occupied, another top performer is Imam ul Haq also an opener. Think Sami should be invested in and given a long rope but with the other two performing they'd put him under a lot of pressure and he could find himself out of the team.
 
Chief Destroyer said:
Inzi's banned them from going next year.
Click to expand...

That's great from Inzi.

I cannot understand why someone would sacrifice his test career prospects for the BPL or any othet pyjama league. Money probably plays a crucial role, especially for Pak players who are a bit underpaid.
 
Chief Destroyer said:
Inzi's banned them from going next year.
Click to expand...

Which isn't right.

What Umar did—was mainly his own fault. Yes, he should have stayed in Pakistan and capitalized on his First-class form. However, it is understandable he went there for better prospects.

This is not just about Umar Akmal, but other domestic cricketers also. They get paid peanuts, hence they should be allowed to go at their own willing.
 
When Sri Lanka got thrashed in England, everyone was talking about how it was in danger of being in terminal decline, being the next West Indies, and stuff like that. Following the emphatic whitewashes of Australia and Zimbabwe, that type of talk got shelved. It's a valid comparison because both Sri Lanka and Pakistan have very poor administration and very poor first class systems; the countries only get by because the people are passionate about cricket. As long as people stay playing cricket then it's premature to say cricket in Pakistan is dead or dying. Just wait for a series in UAE against easy opponents and things will look much better.
 
We survived the retirements of Miandad, Yousaf and Inzi and will do so when Misbah and Younis leave. That's the nature of the game.
 
Pantani said:
When Sri Lanka got thrashed in England, everyone was talking about how it was in danger of being in terminal decline, being the next West Indies, and stuff like that. Following the emphatic whitewashes of Australia and Zimbabwe, that type of talk got shelved. It's a valid comparison because both <b>Sri Lanka and Pakistan have very poor administration</b> and very poor first class systems; the countries only get by because the people are passionate about cricket. As long as people stay playing cricket then it's premature to say cricket in Pakistan is dead or dying. Just wait for a series in UAE against easy opponents and things will look much better.
Click to expand...

Though their performances may be alike, it is likely due to a different reason. Sri Lanka has a population of 20 million and Pakistan 180 million.
 
pakistan was never going to win in australia , everyone and his dog knew that. But i think pakistan cricket team loat intensity after the tour of england and since then we have been rathar sloppy. Playing in newzealand without any practice was a bad idea any way and about australia everyone knew the results. We could be back in business next year when we are playing in the familiar terrirories.
 
Honestly, there isn't much to build around

Asad and Azhar are good. So are Amir, Sarfraz, and Yasir. But otherwise there's lots of gaps in the team

It's going to be a tough couple of years ahead
 
No, there are no evidences of a decline.

The England draw has casted a spell leaving all Pakistani fans believing that the Pakistani test team is good.

In the two wins in England Yasir Shah took the majority of the wickets.

In one of the wins Younus played a blinder, in which I am sure he is not capable of playing an innings of that calibre or significance again.

The pacers were poor in the England series and remain poor in the ongoing Australia series.

Anyone believing this team was capable of beating the Aussies at home are delusional.
 
I will only consider Pakistan in decline if it started losing series in Middle East.
 
Over reaction galore!!

India wins in India
Australia wins in Australia
Pakistan wins in UAE

You guys get the gist ..

Exception to the norm is:
England winning in South Africa
South Africa winning in Australia
Pak winning in SL
India winning in SL
India winning in WI

But none of these for me truly exceptional wins .. becsuse all conditions are more or less similar like India UAE and SL and WI

Australia and south Africa are similar..

So I truly think that pakistans performance in England and England's performance in South Africa are the exceptional performances ..

So let's not over react .. we aren't the exceptional team people thought we were.. we are as good as the other top 3 or 4 teams ..

For a team to be recognized as the undisputed number 1 team in today's Cricket, you have to go outside your conditions and win or not lose .. so .. pak winning in SL doesn't count.. or its not as good as drawing in England.. south Africa winning in Australia doesn't count .. teams outside of Asia need to win in Asia.. Asian teams need to win outside of Asia..

In conclusion, Pakistan remains a solid team.. the reason we played well in England was because of the preparation!
 
Saj said:
It's not just about this series though is it. 5 losses in a row........
Click to expand...

The West Indies series was Pakistan letting their foot off the pedal
Maybe in hindsight they shouldn't have lost the focus of the players into playing second fiddle to a weak west indies team
 
Misbah has obviously gone, let YK get his 10k and move on. Let Assad take responsibility and move to 4, and I would move Azhar back to 3. Develop Sharjeel as an opener, let Sami go back to domestic cricket and get runs and confidence back.
 
Decline is on for sure. The real men in the team will shine through in tough phase. I think anything more than 5-7 test wins in next two years will be acceptable.

They just have to compete in all tests in rebuilding phase. Won't be easy. But it's Pakistan
 
What was the high point of this test team? Please did I miss something? Was whitewashing England and Australia on turning pitches considered to be a high point? Even Angelo Mathews with a rookie team achieved that feat and we know even Bandladesh would spin Aussies and English to victories on these pitches because they are just pathetic against spin. Did we beat two arguably better teams of our conditions SA and Ind?We managed to win one test against SA out of the four tests on our home soil in last two series. We have failed to win series in WI despite them having one of the worse sides off late where even Indian clean sweep now. We also managed to draw series against club level Zimbabwean team. We were thrashed by SA,NZ,Aus on our away tours. The biggest success of away tour was drawing the series against England.

Pakistan is one of the most overrated test teams no doubt about that.
 
It's actually is not a surprise to me. What we have seen in ODI was just the start of what's to follow. I knew that after YK & Misbah (or once team starts to tour outside comfort zone - but that's not a monopoly of PAK only, a bit redundadnt logic), Test team will decline, but worse has happened - YK, Misbah has lost it to age, but they haven't left the their spot.

Unless Domestic Cricket is fixed, things won't improve. Only few teams play Cricket, few in serious notes & in half of those countries, cricket is dying; therefore PAK will remain a strong Cricket team in small cricket world; but unless domestic system is fixed - Afghanistan will replace India as their rival neighbor.
 
Worrying thing is that the replacements that are being mentioned hardly excite me.
 
It was only a few years ago that Australia were hammering India in Australia even with their legends. Yet India have now emerged as a very strong team with a lot of really well rounded and fantastic players.

Sometimes it's important to have a clear out after a disastrous tour. Saying goodbye to younis and misbah may be just the tonic that this team needs so it can be rebuilt from a core of Asad, Azhar, sarfraz, Yasir and Amir.
 
England was our peak. Signs were there vs WI.

We missed our best ever opportunity to beat Aus in Australia.

Sad and depressing as we will now never get such an opportunity again.
 
Abid Z said:
It was only a few years ago that Australia were hammering India in Australia even with their legends. Yet India have now emerged as a very strong team with a lot of really well rounded and fantastic players.

Sometimes it's important to have a clear out after a disastrous tour. Saying goodbye to younis and misbah may be just the tonic that this team needs so it can be rebuilt from a core of Asad, Azhar, sarfraz, Yasir and Amir.
Click to expand...

I worked for India because they believed in change & Domestics supplied their players for the change. Something similar can be said about Bangladesh as well - the willingness to change is there, players are still not there, but it's improving. 90% of the 35 players' pool in Bangladesh actually have started FC cricket after 2005.

It's difficult to change in PAK without the mindset, neither the supply line. In another post, I wrote that first thing PAK needs is to bring official average age of the squad from 31 to around 25 - 2 days later Inzi has named an ODI squad with Irfan, Wahab, Rahat in it.
 
I don't think this is the decline of Pak test cricket . What happened to Pakistan ,happens with everyone now a days.except sa-nz,Eng,Aus,Ind or other would do same if they tour. So,need not to panic.

Today,home and away determines the results,not how good or bad the team is. Pak would be ok later soon.
 
Those living in the comfort of "we are ok in UAE, we will be alright" mentality. Well they have some shocks coming up I feel.
 
Only a matter of time before we lose a series in 'fortress' UAE. Could even get whitewashed there if India tours.
 
Our test will be hammered in WI. 3-0 or 3-1 for WI.
PCB will keep same team in the name of experience and result will be same
 
Sunny786 said:
I don't even see potential replacements.
Click to expand...

Team in decline no doubt about it.

Take YK and Misbah out of this team and what you have left is a bunch of players lacking leadership, guidance and stable cricketers. Yes you will get the occasional good performance from individuals or the team but mark my words this team will go into freefall.
 
Rankings showing Pakistan cricket is in decline.

All this happening under the noses of officials who are supposed to be working for the betterment of Pakistan cricket.

These officials only seem to be interested in lining their own pockets.
 
Saj said:
Rankings showing Pakistan cricket is in decline.

All this happening under the noses of officials who are supposed to be working for the betterment of Pakistan cricket.

These officials only seem to be interested in lining their own pockets.
Click to expand...

And they keep fooling us by replacing captains, selectors and NCA staff.

Hiring Inzi was a master stroke by Shehryar as it bought him 2 more years with the fans forgetting everything in excitement.
 
In the past I have felt positive about Pakistan cricket and that we will always produce some great players or at least very good ones.

But the cupboard seems quite bare at the moment and the standards of the team across all formats is slipping.

More poor results to come I feel.
 
Saj said:
In the past I have felt positive about Pakistan cricket and that we will always produce some great players or at least very good ones.

But the cupboard seems quite bare at the moment and the standards of the team across all formats is slipping.

More poor results to come I feel.
Click to expand...

this is just phase that Pakistan is going through. Pakistan has a huge population who are crazy about cricket. So i don't see it declining a lot.
 
Really need to take care of the domestic system. I remember how many people in my neighborhood used to carry kitbag in the heat and would go from game to game. All of those guys are struggling to provide food to their family caz they didnt invest time in education.

You will not going to be pulling talent unless PCB secures talent at a domestic level and take care of them financially and also provide ethical merit selection.
 
I'm very much worried about the ODI team because I honestly feel like we're stuck in the 70's and have no hope whatsoever and the cupboard definitely feels empty however, I expect the Test team to keep getting better. Misbah and Younis Khan have been great cricketers and as soon as they leave, Pakistan may find it a little hard to avoid the decline but I still expect the Test team to be top notch.

We have a couple of good faces who I have great expectations from and we have good talent suited for Tests waiting for their turn as soon as the oldies call it a day.

Sami Aslam and Babar Azam are the future of Pakistan Test cricket team. Absolutely wonderful and talented players who will both go to big heights.

Azhar Ali is easily one of the best openers in the world. Asad Shafiq, despite all his flaws, comes good once or twice a series and I expect him to get better. He is no longer young but you can teach an old dog new tricks. The way he's become so fit, I expect him to up his game as well. NO place in the ODI team though.

The bowling does seem a little dry. Yasir Shah just had a bad tour so I have no worries there. Not even being biased or anything. I'm 100% sure he's still a great bowler and will even do good in Oceania once he gets the chance next time. However, we need a Mushtaq back for him.

As for the fast bowlers, Amir is good. Hasan needs to be added but he needs to focus on his fitness and health. Needs to build on pace.
 
I think those that have their head buried in the sand need to look at the bigger picture.

The players are not coming through. We are producing cricketers who cannot handle pressure, don't have mental toughness, lack fitness and lack ability.
 
Is the Pakistan Test team on the decline?

7 loses in last 8.

Misbah and Younis, are also retiring. Atleast they can save you in uae.

Pakistan will be having, an unsettled line up from next series.

1.Azhar
2.???
3.???(Babar, not yet settlled)
4.???
5.May be, Babar at 5
6.Sarfraz(captain won't and should not bat below 6)
7.???


Just 3 Batsmen are sure starters, in top 7.

Dark times ahead, for Pakistan test team, just like their LOI team
 
fazleefridi said:
7 loses in last 8.

Misbah and Younis, are also retiring. Atleast they can save you in uae.

Pakistan will be having, an unsettled line up from next series.

1.Azhar
2.???
3.???(Babar, not yet settlled)
4.???
5.May be, Babar at 5
6.Sarfraz(captain won't and should not bat below 6)
7.???


Just 3 Batsmen are sure starters, in top 7.

Dark times ahead, for Pakistan test team, just like their LOI team[/Q
They are not good enough at first place
Click to expand...
 
Just being exposed to a world outside Asia. Having said that, a possible loss in West Indies surprises me too.
 
It was only a matter of playing outside Asia. They didn't get exposed earlier because they were hiding in the UAE for years.
 
It cannot really get any worse. On the bright side, I do not think Misbah and Younis will be missed, so it does not really matter what mediocrity replaces them.
 
We will remain a mediocre team , no good fast bowlers and no batsmen who can take on the game.
 
I can't imagine our team post the retirement of Younis. If Amir is your 4th best batter, it says a lot about the team..
 
captain crook said:
I can't imagine our team post the retirement of Younis. If Amir is your 4th best batter, it says a lot about the team..
Click to expand...

I agree with this. Even though I don't rate Younis of post 2007 as good as before but I still think all the success we had post 2010 it had major contribution from YK.
 
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