Yet, Pakistan no longer have the respect and recognition in world cricket that they had before. Why is that?
Let me list a few reasons why:
We don’t produce world class, box office players anymore.
We haven’t won a World Cup since 1992.
We haven’t been ranked number one in ODIs.
We have lost nearly 85% of our ODI series against the top teams since 2006.
We get thrashed in Australia every time we tour.
We were ranked number one in Tests for a very brief period, and only because the India vs West Indies Test was washed out.
Winning a Test series in West Indies in 2017 means absolutely nothing.
Winning the World T20 doesn’t do anything for the status of the team. West Indies have won two and they are still considered as a team in steep decline.
We have made a lot of noise for the wrong reasons (spot-fixing, chucking, terrorism etc.)
Our so-called dominance in UAE in Tests was flimsy - we lost matches to South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and even West Indies, and England were literally minutes away from winning a Test as well.
Moreover, our ODI record in the UAE is absolutely pathetic.
We even managed to lose a Test in Zimbabwe.
All of the above reasons have contributed to the fact that Pakistan cricket does not have the same clout and recognition that it used to.
Our reputation is still largely based on our historical exploits, and if we compile Pakistan’s all time XI across formats, hardly 1-2 players debuting in the last 15-20 years would make the teams.
So much for “achieving more in the last 20 years than ever before”
The Champions Trophy was great, and it has helped Pakistan restore some pride, but we have a long, long way to go because the damage of the last two decades cannot be reversed overnight.
Our 90’s team wasn’t particularly successful either. Post 1994, it greatly underperformed and lost Tests to teams like Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at home, but it was a case of world class players not fulfilling their potential due to lack of work ethic and internal politics.
However, our lack of success in the last two decades has been largely down to producing very few high quality players, and that is why hardly 1-2 of our players of the last two decades make it to our all-time XI.
Who says we don't have the same respect? Can you prove this with anything objective?
- Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Shah and now Babar Azam, Hasan Ali and Shadab Khan are/were all world class, box office players.
- We haven't won a World Cup since '92 but England, New Zealand and South Africa have never won one. Our performance hasn't been particularly bad in WCs either, losing a close semi-final in 2011.
- The ODI rankings are not particularly prestigious. It is far better to win ODI tournaments than be ranked #1 in this format. However, even then our players have been right up there in the ODI rankings with Ajmal enjoying a lengthy time at the top, Hasan and Hafeez getting to #1 as well and Babar, Junaid, Irfan and Afridi also being near the top at times.
- Is this 85 percent of lost series a real statistic? Even if it is, we have won major ODI series in India and South Africa since 2010. Not many teams can boast that.
- Everyone except South Africa gets thrashed there. However, we have a very good away record in places like England and New Zealand since 2010.
- It does not matter how brief it was. The fact remains that we were arguably the best test team during that time and were duly rewarded for our excellence. When was the last time England or New Zealand were ranked #1?
- Winning a series in the West Indies means that we have now won series in every test playing country except two. Nothing to scoff at.
- WT20 is still a trophy and that was just confirmation that for the longest time, we were the best T20 team in the world.
- Since 2010, we have never been in the news for the wrong reasons. Individual players chucking is not something that dishonors a nation.
- The fact remains that we did not lose a single series in the UAE throughout Misbah's captaincy. You talk about losing tests to the likes of South Africa and New Zealand as if they are minnows. We defied them and thrashed England and Australia. That is fantastic.
- That loss to Zimbabwe was a fluke. It happens.
Along with all this, we have also won the CT, Asia Cup, major test and ODI series, have had a great captain and now a great chief selector since 2010. So you see, your claims of this downward spiral are greatly exaggerated.
In fact, there is no downward spiral. We suddenly hit rock-bottom during 2007-2010 with one humiliation after another, infighting, no real leadership after Inzamam retired, poor performances soon following and it was capped off by the spot-fixing saga. However, since 2010, Pakistan cricket has only been upwards, Alhamdulillah, and I can see more glory (series wins in England and South Africa) and silverware (2019 WC) before this decade is over, InshAllah.
