[EXCLUSIVE] "Our players are more interested in making money rather than performing on the field for Pakistan": Mushtaq Mohammad

[Cricket Warrior]

In this exclusive interview, former Pakistan captain and legendary all-rounder Mushtaq Mohammad delivers a blunt, no-nonsense assessment of Pakistan cricket's decline. From comparing the spirit of Indo-Pak cricket in his era to today, to diagnosing the deep structural failures within the PCB, the 57-Test veteran holds nothing back. Mushtaq also opens up on the franchise cricket culture, the lack of player responsibility, and what it will take to fix the system.

Key revelations include:

Political Interference: Attributed the decline in India-Pakistan cricket relations to the Indian government, lamenting how politics has dismantled the sportsmanship of his era.

Skill Gap: Criticized current national players for lacking international standards, famously stating they "looked like club cricketers" with no technical grit.

Broken Pipeline: Diagnosed a complete system failure within the PCB, citing a lack of a proper domestic structure to groom quality talent.

Lack of Ownership: Blamed the team's inability to chase targets on the irresponsible batting of senior players who refuse to take match-winning responsibility.

Commercial Shift: Warned that franchise cricket has corrupted priorities, with players now more motivated by financial gain than representing their country.

Defense of Coaches: Argued that the fault lies with player application, not the coaching staff, noting that coaches do not instruct players to make reckless mistakes.

Watch full interview with Saj here:

 

[Markhor]

One of our best ever captains.

 

[Professionalismandflair]

One of our best ever captains.

And a thoroughly decent man

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

One of our best ever captains.

He's criminally underrated & the lack of respect on his name is insane.

That said, I've been reading a book from Imran Khan and it was his opinion that money changed our players in the 90s and the impact was first observed by him in 92'.

It explains how our team in the 90s never really played in the same manner in which the team in 80s played despite having superior players.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

He's criminally underrated & the lack of respect on his name is insane.

That said, I've been reading a book from Imran Khan and it was his opinion that money changed our players in the 90s and the impact was first observed by him in 92'.

It explains how our team in the 90s never really played in the same manner in which the team in 80s played despite having superior players.

Having read the book, Imran Khan had a point. When money and fame came into Pakistan cricket after the early 90s, the mindset of the players also started to change. In the 80s, the team played with hunger, pride and a bit of street-fighter mentality. They weren’t superstars yet, so they fought for every run and wicket.

By the mid and late 90s, we had more talented players, but the attitude wasn’t always the same. Contracts, endorsements and status started to matter more. The team often looked like a group of individuals instead of one unit.

That said, talent was never Pakistan’s problem. Discipline, hunger and putting the team first has always been the real challenge something even Imran Khan noticed very early on.

 

[Savak]

Money and lots of it changed Indian cricketers for the better and it reflected positively on Indian Cricket.

Why does money in comparison have negative consequences on Pakistani players?

 

[Deewana Mastana]

One of our best ever captains.

Indeed.

He was brave and always backed his players.
When he was captain, the team played with confidence and self belief. He kept things simple and made the team fight hard in every match. That famous 2-0 test series win against India in 78-79 being the best at the time.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Money and lots of it changed Indian cricketers for the better and it reflected positively on Indian Cricket.

Why does money in comparison have negative consequences on Pakistani players?

PCB has always been unstable and never had discipline or structure unlike India which it mostly had even before let's say the IPL happened.

In Pakistan, the difference isn't about the money, it's the structure, professionalism and how strictly the players are managed.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

Money and lots of it changed Indian cricketers for the better and it reflected positively on Indian Cricket.

Why does money in comparison have negative consequences on Pakistani players?

Money didn't make Indian players better, implementation of merit did. Even the new riches of IPL are making cricket better because the IPL is ruthless & while there's still some hero worship currently, the next generation of fans will be so ruthless that if a player won't perform a few games, they'll find themselves out of the team.

The 90s were an absolutely dark period for us because no one was in control. The cricketers had money and fame but also freedom to do whatever they want & while off field performance was ok, nothing was achieved in this period that hadn't been done before. Spot fixing, match fixing, ill discipline, getting caught with drugs, getting into brawls in night clubs & players getting stabbed, oath gates, players under performing when another person would be captain, allegations, politics, & all of this without any real accountability.

 

[Aami]

My dad who followed criclet in the 60s and 70s used to rave about him.

 

[Major]

Belongs from another generation, so wouldnt read too much on perception he might have.

There is no issue with money. One of the reasons why certain sports have survived is because being a professional sportsman give u a pay cheque.

Issue is trying to be a star. Alot of guys are crazy for fame. We dont notice it on tv, but go to a stadium, and the way players look for cameras to style a celebration is really disturbing.

There is always a differnece in body language between Australian and English players compared to Pakistanis

 

[Professionalismandflair]

the difference is playing in the IPL. Set for life. The sweet swagger of surety. Unlike the mad chaotic poorer (for most) other leagues.

 

[shaz619]

He's criminally underrated & the lack of respect on his name is insane.

That said, I've been reading a book from Imran Khan and it was his opinion that money changed our players in the 90s and the impact was first observed by him in 92'.

It explains how our team in the 90s never really played in the same manner in which the team in 80s played despite having superior players.

Which book is this brother

 

[shaz619]

Unpatriotic spoilt little kids who never knew the true grind and hard times, way too pampered and glorified for achieving mediocre goals.

 

[chinaman00]

Having read the book, Imran Khan had a point. When money and fame came into Pakistan cricket after the early 90s, the mindset of the players also started to change. In the 80s, the team played with hunger, pride and a bit of street-fighter mentality. They weren’t superstars yet, so they fought for every run and wicket.

By the mid and late 90s, we had more talented players, but the attitude wasn’t always the same. Contracts, endorsements and status started to matter more. The team often looked like a group of individuals instead of one unit.

That said, talent was never Pakistan’s problem. Discipline, hunger and putting the team first has always been the real challenge something even Imran Khan noticed very early on.

It’s a societal issue in Pakistan not just a cricketing one. Cricket is a symptom of a countrywide moral collapse.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

Which book is this brother

Pakistan, A personal history
(It has an online PDF version available but won't share it because of the link policy)

 

[shaz619]

Pakistan, A personal history
(It has an online PDF version available but won't share it because of the link policy)

Thanks for this, I prefer physical copies, will have a look on Amazon.

Just as I type this, I thought I’d check my book shelf first because I was sure I have a couple of books about Imran Khan, one of them I purchased myself - the one where there is quote of him saying he will be PM of Pakistan one dat.

Then there was another! IK, Pakistan, A Personal History! Someone got me it when they were in Pakistan, whenever someone is travelling there they ask me what I want and I always say books!

I love history and especially horror fiction which I write myself to, when my mom was there I said to please find me a horror with Pakistani folklore, and she found a store in a Pindi bazar which had this big book of Scary Urdu short stories translated into English, but he was like you need a big heart to read these etc and scared her off lol

Back to the book itself, it appears as though it was written by IK himself? Is there any other interesting background on how it got written or best to just dig in!

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

Thanks for this, I prefer physical copies, will have a look on Amazon.

Just as I type this, I thought I’d check my book shelf first because I was sure I have a couple of books about Imran Khan, one of them I purchased myself - the one where there is quote of him saying he will be PM of Pakistan one dat.

Then there was another! IK, Pakistan, A Personal History! Someone got me it when they were in Pakistan, whenever someone is travelling there they ask me what I want and I always say books!

I love history and especially horror fiction which I write myself to, when my mom was there I said to please find me a horror with Pakistani folklore, and she found a store in a Pindi bazar which had this big book of Scary Urdu short stories translated into English, but he was like you need a big heart to read these etc and scared her off lol

Back to the book itself, it appears as though it was written by IK himself? Is there any other interesting background on how it got written or best to just dig in!

Dig in.

It's more about his journey post cricket so has more politics and post retirement struggles than cricket so if you don't have a lot of interest in Pakistani politics, you can skim fair chunks of it.

Reading this gave me a bit of similar feeling as to what I felt when I watched "Forrest Gump" for the first time. Don't mean it in a derogatory manner, it's just that he was present at many of our most important events both on and off the field and had access to both Pakistani and global elite at one point. For example he knew Benazir, Nawaz, & Zia all from his personal experiences. These are the three main architects of life of ordinary Pakistanis from the 1970s to date. & at the same time he also knew Tony Blair and the British Royal family who were main event attractions in that part of the world.