[EXCLUSIVE] “My advice for Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah would be that they need to focus on what's ahead": Yasir Arafat

[The Bald Eagle]

Pakistan's decision to prepare a spinning track in Multan paid off as they secured a crucial victory in the 2nd Test, leveling the three-match series against England. Noman Ali and Sajid Khan were the stars of the show, claiming all 20 wickets between them in a dominant bowling display. This win marked Pakistan’s first home Test triumph since 2021.

To break down the key moments from the match, cricket analyst Saj sits down with former Pakistan all-rounder and ECB Level 4 Coach Yasir Arafat for an insightful discussion. In this candid chat, they cover:

Pakistan's clinical win in the 2nd Test against England
The strategy behind preparing spin-friendly pitches at home
Pakistan's struggle to develop top-tier talent
A look ahead to the decisive 3rd Test

 

[FearlessRoar]

He's right. Talent is what's lacking in Pakistan cricket. Sadly I can't even name one player or emerging player who can match, let alone surpass Afghan players.

 

[BouncerGuy]

No Doubts about this. Pakistan lacks talent or even if there is someone out there, he is the victim of Parchi system in Pakistan.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

As a whole team we never used to have exceptional talent , most of our past cricketers were average or just decent coupled by 3/4 exceptionally talented players at any time , now those 3/4 exceptionally talented players are missing and replaced by 2/3 good players and the rest of the talent is still average to decent which we used to have in the past as well.

 

[m.shah]

Pakistan is least talented nation.Afghans are most talented nation.

 

[Sycamore]

Why do Pakistani players have to be dropped for them to start thinking about improvement.

Look at root, he is the best English batsman but still he is continually evolving

 

[ask_analyse_act]

He's right. Talent is what's lacking in Pakistan cricket. Sadly I can't even name one player or emerging player who can match, let alone surpass Afghan players.

They have indeed but just not been given consistent chances. The elephant blocking the road is a massive hurdle to cross backed by the system. Secondly nepotism is sky high , also the senior players bring up the friendship card into play. Too much to cry for.

India also have the same issues but the number of players coming through the ranks with a big population will take care of itself but in Pakistan it is not the case they need some amount of professionalism to fix that gap and nurture young talent

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Why do Pakistani players have to be dropped for them to start thinking about improvement.

Look at root, he is the best English batsman but still he is continually evolving

And one more thing is that they return after a while with the same stock of errors and zero improvement

Just that they are out of the team they look million dollars

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Pakistan is least talented nation.Afghans are most talented nation.

Agree that Afghans have better talent these days but to say Pakistan doesn't have any exceptional talent at all is a bit hyperbole. We have some great lads in domestic.

 

[Abstraction1]

Players need to be rested and rotated for their own good. This applies to all teams and nearly all sports!

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Players need to be rested and rotated for their own good. This applies to all teams and nearly all sports!

It's bad they are back so quick for Australia tour, anyway a great series to gauge how much they have benefitted from the rest.

 

[mango_bite77]

Agree that Afghans have better talent these days but to say Pakistan doesn't have any exceptional talent at all is a bit hyperbole. We have some great lads in domestic.

Please name some..

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Please name some..

Arafat Minhas, Sufyan Muqeem, Saad Baig to name a few.

 

[mango_bite77]

Arafat Minhas, Sufyan Muqeem, Saad Baig to name a few.

Yes all of them are talented but compare them with any other top nation youngsters like India, Australia, Eng etc, are they still enough talented?