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Are we now witnessing the demise of Pakistan cricket?

Zakaz

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Sep 21, 2018
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If you thought we couldn't go any lower after the recent asia cup debacle, well guess what? our future stars U-19 team failed to make even the semi finals of asia cup. We were kicked out alongside Nepal, Hong Kong and UAE. Therefore I disclose, cricket is officially dead in Pakistan.
 
Overreaction as usual. Common buddy, you just won CT a year back. Cut them some slack. Cricket as a sport is losing grip over common people in India also. I don't see street shops: panwalas, halwai etc glued to TV set watching cricket anymore. I guess with gross commercialization of cricket IPL etc, people see cricketers as professionals only not someone who represents country anymore. In a way it is a good thing though. In subcontinent, Bangla and Afghan fans are passionate because they haven't seen their team winning anything. Pakistan team had the best days in Imran and post Imran 90's era and won a lot. For pak fans of those times, current Pak team can't generate any interest. For new fans (post 2000) T20 PSL is more attractive i guess. I am only assuming from my experience in India, i don't know the ground reality in Pakistan. My younger cousins are more into video games, Instagram selfies, "chilling out" rather than playing street cricket. They don't discuss cricket like we used to do when we were teenagers.
 
Overreaction as usual. Common buddy, you just won CT a year back. Cut them some slack. Cricket as a sport is losing grip over common people in India also. I don't see street shops: panwalas, halwai etc glued to TV set watching cricket anymore. I guess with gross commercialization of cricket IPL etc, people see cricketers as professionals only not someone who represents country anymore. In a way it is a good thing though. In subcontinent, Bangla and Afghan fans are passionate because they haven't seen their team winning anything. Pakistan team had the best days in Imran and post Imran 90's era and won a lot. For pak fans of those times, current Pak team can't generate any interest. For new fans (post 2000) T20 PSL is more attractive i guess. I am only assuming from my experience in India, i don't know the ground reality in Pakistan. My younger cousins are more into video games, Instagram selfies, "chilling out" rather than playing street cricket. They don't discuss cricket like we used to do when we were teenagers.

Thats true, its same in Pakistan. Youngsters are more interested in social media rather than cricket
 
It would depend on the outcome of Aus Test series.

We got humiliated last year by losing Test series to Sri Lanka .

If we do it again, it will be truly embarrassing and signal the demise.
 
If I'm not mistaken we were probably the third best team in the tournament, India and Bangladesh being ahead of us. We had high expectations but then again you can't win every game, we just have to look to include newer players who can actually play the brand of cricket that we want; for example we should be playing Junaid Khan over Mohammed Amir on pitches such as the UAE or SL.
 
If Asif poor mans Justin Kemp Ali shadab steve smith khan & Baba 60 s/r Azam are the future then the demise has started, aint even started on the captain yet!!
 
Well at least our U19 boys have spared us humiliation at the hands of India by getting out early so I give them credit for that
 
Overreaction as usual. Common buddy, you just won CT a year back. Cut them some slack. Cricket as a sport is losing grip over common people in India also. I don't see street shops: panwalas, halwai etc glued to TV set watching cricket anymore. I guess with gross commercialization of cricket IPL etc, people see cricketers as professionals only not someone who represents country anymore. In a way it is a good thing though. In subcontinent, Bangla and Afghan fans are passionate because they haven't seen their team winning anything. Pakistan team had the best days in Imran and post Imran 90's era and won a lot. For pak fans of those times, current Pak team can't generate any interest. For new fans (post 2000) T20 PSL is more attractive i guess. I am only assuming from my experience in India, i don't know the ground reality in Pakistan. My younger cousins are more into video games, Instagram selfies, "chilling out" rather than playing street cricket. They don't discuss cricket like we used to do when we were teenagers.

Agreed, sports participation in general is in decline in most countries across the globe. To many options for kids these days. Back when I was a kid (early 2000s) I only used to watch cartoons and play cricket/soccer etc. Today kids have a dozen options.

Cricket will never be as popular again as it was 20 years ago.
 
Date for qualifier with Uganda is rapidly approaching :ssmith
 
I like this game of rise-demise, golden-bronze era played by fans here after every win and loss. :inti
 
I think, it didn't start over night, or more precisely after losing to BD in Asia Cup. But yes, cricket is in constant decline. No empire ruins in a day, therefore PAK cricket won't finish in a short span and in between we'll see some sparks in patches like the CT win of the Lord's Test, but as a cricket force it might be tough to return back.

I give an example to explain the situation.

If we take all-time best Indian 19 for a combined Test & ODI squad, almost half of the players will be debuting in this millennium, or say in last 20 years. Kohli, MSD, Ashwin, Sehwag, Zak, UV for sure, may be Rohit, Bumrah, Jadeja, Bhajji, Ishant, BK, Dhawan as well in contention. Add to that Dravid & VVS are missing the cut for 2-3 years. It tells that the game in IND is growing, at least there is a consistency - in every generation quality players are coming & some of them are reaching world class level, few even ATG level. You don't get a Gavaskar, SRT or Kohli in every year - even one in 2 decades is excellent. It's normal for every great sports nation - that's why only 8 teams have won Soccer WC, in every generation they can replace world class players with next batch, and in every WC, they can send a squad realistically capable of winning the cup.

If I do the same for PAK, only 1 player in my 19 will be debuting in last 20 years, that too in 2000. My 19 for a combined team'll be

Mazid, Hanif, Saeed
Zaheer, Javed, MoYo, YK, Mushtaq
Latif, Bari
Imran, A Razzak
Wasim, Waquar, Shoaib, Fazal
Qadir, Saq, Qasim.

This is a symptom of Hungary in soccer - at present, PAK is going through what Hungary went through in between 1960s to 1980s - still they qualified for WC regularly, still they had odd individual brilliance (like beating El Salvador 10-1 in 1982), still they produced few individual talents.... but Hungary was finished as a soccer superpower by early 1960s - today, they are struggling to qualify for a 24 team EURO, when they were regular in WC, from a 6-7 team EURO Zone qualifier. Till 1950s, two of the biggest Soccer rivalry was Hungary V Germany & Hungary V England - today Germany sends their back-ups in friendlies with Hungary & ENG last played Hungary in 2010.

Imran Khan's next 5 years will determine which way PAK Cricket will go - Hungary or Germany - they also came back after 12 years of complete destruction by WW II, to win the WC of 1954, then never looked back (though suffered a small hick-up in 2018, but temporary - Germany should make the 2022 SF at least).
 
:facepalm:

We lost a regional tournament and Pakistan Cricket is dying....

:salute to this logic

:afridi
 
I don't worry about our bowling . We will produce talent there. But our batting is a real worry. They have talent but they don't develop there game by batting in long innings in first class cricket and don't have access to top coaches. Also our batsmen lack batting intelligence and the ability to rotate strike. It's a serious issue which hasn't been addressed for many years.
 
It started with Misbah prolonging his stay in the team for 3-4 years too long.
 
Our emerging team consisting of well known players just got smashed by Indian D team consisting of largely unkown players. On top of that our national team just lost test series to New Zealand at our fort and we are now preparing ourselves for a whitewash in south africa. Our legendary captain, just when you think he can't get any worse, he scores two ducks in the first match.
 
Umm...

We're NUMBER 7 ranked team.

Do you think this happened overnight? This has been going on for the last 2-3 years. Especially after YK/Misbah retired.

So, yes, we're witnessing it from years. Not just now.

At minnow level.

Sarfraz, Shafiq, to some extent Azhar are the biggest contributors in Tests.
 
Umm...

We're NUMBER 7 ranked team.

Do you think this happened overnight? This has been going on for the last 2-3 years. Especially after YK/Misbah retired.

So, yes, we're witnessing it from years. Not just now.

At minnow level.

Sarfraz, Shafiq, to some extent Azhar are the biggest contributors in Tests.

true, agree with you
 
ODIs and T20Is Pakistan are fine and have players who are excellent in those formats, but the Test team is awful, mentally weak, with the batting at a very low point.

Expect more bad days for Pakistan's Test team.
 
We just let slip what was probably our best chance to win a Test in South Africa in ages. A few changes are needed, but with Babar finding his feet, Shan looking like a solid top order batsman and Shaheen's impressive start in Tests, I feel the team has good potential. Of course, it will take time given it's going through a tough rebuilding phase, and we'll probably need a change in captaincy.
 
I think it isnt as bad as it looks at the moment.
Need more mental toughness for sure.
This team has some good young players who should get better with time.
I think a team with half as much talent wouldnt have lost the test matches Pak have in recent times provided they applied themselves properly.

Current leadership is aweful, and If this can be rectified things might get better.

Babar , Fakhar , Imam , Hasan , Shadab , Abbas , Shan , Shaheen give me hope
 
Demise ???

Are you crazy !!!

You have a bloody good bowling attack and okayish batsmen....

No team is a minnow if it can take 20 wickets
 
The op is clearly overreacting.

But it is true that Pakistan is heading in the wrong direction right and has been for a long while now.

If there aren’t structural changes made to Pakistan cricket than in the long run we will become minnows.
 
I'm more worried about the demise of Australian cricket. Pakistan will survive because cricket is the only sport in the country. A few structural issues rectified now and Pakistan will become a good team 10 years down the road.

However the decline of Australia is alarming and could potentially be terminal. The spot fixing saga has more implications than originally thought. It has dampened the level of interest. Also cricket isn't the only sport. AFL, football, rugby, hockey, there are lots of other sports that interest kids there.

Pakistan will always survive in cricket. We will see the decline more so in developed countries than in the subcontinent.
 
There was an interview with Mudassar Nazar on these pages a few weeks back. He's heading youth development. According to him there is a significant dearth of talent at the under 19 level, but the under 16s and under 13s look quite promising. So the blip if any, might be a few more years. But isn't necessarily permanent.
 
We are going through bad patch from 2010
But this patch is soon going to over.
We are best in t20s,
As far as Odis we are not that bad as our record suggest. Just we need is to make our combination right. And I'm hopeful we will do better against SA.
In test if we get rid of some so called seniors we will do better.
Overall we are surviving well in international cricket and once international cricket back in Pakistan we will grow and perfom better.
Our good days are ahead.
 
This statement is more true with regards to current Australian team.
 
Lmao demise? What an absurd overreaction.

Pakistan is struggling in Tests but they've struggled for the past two years since Younis/Misbah retired. Until they get someone that is legitimately great to replace them, they will continue to struggle but its not like they are getting steamrolled in these matches. They should have won NZ series 2-1, should have beat Australia 2-0 instead of 1-0 and came close to winning in South Africa.

They are dominating in T20. In ODI, it has been a bit up and down but usually their losses have been because of poor selections such as playing Asif Ali in Asia Cup and having Malik bat at #4 and not playing 2 spinners in UAE etc...

And they just won the Championship Trophy a year ago. My god, people lose their memories really quick. It's as if they've forgotten what an absolute disaster this team was for the past decade in LOI. People do remember how they had fallen so low that they barely qualified for Championship Trophy, right? Not to mention whatever this team was in the 2015 World Cup.
 
That's the fact. Pakistan has lost many times in the past but now the passion for the game is at its lowest, unlike the past no public reaction. Captain, dead weight seniors and the chief selector are still there, as nothing has happened. They don;t have any dignity in them to step down themselves. Mani is not doing anything, another useless man in his 70s, pathetic.
 
That's the fact. Pakistan has lost many times in the past but now the passion for the game is at its lowest, unlike the past no public reaction. Captain, dead weight seniors and the chief selector are still there, as nothing has happened. They don;t have any dignity in them to step down themselves. Mani is not doing anything, another useless man in his 70s, pathetic.

No public reaction???:yk

The public is spewing hate all around twitter to get rid of sarfaraz. Cricket always trends at no.1.
There is still a lot of passion.
 
There is no doubt that Pakistani cricket had been going down gradually and steadily in last 10 years or so. In mu opinion it is easier and quicker to improve bowling stocks but much more difficult to improve batting quality. Real worry for Pakistan is decline in batting quality. Didn't see anyone in under 19 World Cup. I think Sethi did good job in turning around Pakistani cricket. Let's see how his successors perform. I put Pakistan at number 6 in the world at the minute
 
There is no doubt that Pakistani cricket had been going down gradually and steadily in last 10 years or so. In mu opinion it is easier and quicker to improve bowling stocks but much more difficult to improve batting quality. Real worry for Pakistan is decline in batting quality. Didn't see anyone in under 19 World Cup. I think Sethi did good job in turning around Pakistani cricket. Let's see how his successors perform. I put Pakistan at number 6 in the world at the minute

Number 6 in which format? or is that overall ranking?
 
Overall. They have a lot to improve. But given the population size , a good administrator can turn around things quickly. Also bad administration can lead to Sri Lanka like outcome.
 
In fact Pakistan has done great to stay competitive and produce bowlers like Shaheen and batsman like Babar, when they have no home games.
I don’t know how the game is managed at grassroot level. Is there a pipeline where kids to keep playing the game and have something to aim for other than National team to make a profession out of cricket? Hope PSL fills that gap. I know how Desi parents want their kids to be one doctors or engineers, but leagues like PSL and IPL will encourage parents to leave the kids in the game and they can feel their kids can make a living playing cricket.
Here in the US there is incentive for parents to keep the kids in sports, because they can at least get a college education thru sports, even though only 2% of them become pros.
I really hope India and Pakistan encourage High School and college sports. Couple weeks ago there was a HS football game in Texas and the attendees was 50,000 and # 1 sports team in US is probably Alabama Football Team.
To conclude in spite of so many hurdles Pakistan has remained competitive and manage to produce talented players, so no, they are not going down the drain.
 
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Corruption in selection needs to end. Does not matter how you look, its what you do matters.
 
So second test we lost by 9 wickets. Shan Masood and Babar Azam give us some hope. Other than, yes this is the demise of Pakistan cricket. I am going to give no credit to Asad Shafiq for his innings and dont you dare ask me why. Unfortunately, I am also disappointed by our bowling this time.
 
Pakistani cricket going same way as SL cricket right now and things will get worse before getting better.
 
Pakistan will and should start beating teams at home. No demise lol

Tbh some of the batsmen have exceeded expectations in SA. There is no doubt these guys play the game with the right approach outside UAE. They just fail a lot more because of self inflicted mistakes and not that they are inept!

Fakhar, pointless dismisal
Imam, nothing dismisal
Asad, why play at a ball wide from your body?
Azhar, zero confidence
Sarfaraz, not good enough really these days
 
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