[EXCLUSIVE] "Pakistan must learn from West Indies' decline": Fazeer Mohammed

[FearlessRoar]

Fazeer Mohammad, the renowned cricket commentator, joined Saj for an exclusive interview with PakPassion to discuss the challenges facing Pakistan cricket, drawing comparisons to the struggles of West Indies cricket. He emphasizes the detrimental impact of political interference within the PCB, leadership instability, and frequent administrative changes, which hinder team performance.

Fazeer expressed concerns over the increasing dominance of T20 leagues, which, he believes, are adversely affecting the growth of Test cricket. He highlights the lack of a comprehensive long-term development plan for Pakistan cricket, warning that it risks further decline. Reflecting on the downfall of West Indies cricket, he underscores the importance of stable administration in fostering player morale and enhancing performance.

Main topics covered in this interview:

Political interference in PCB: Political influence disrupts the PCB’s growth and consistency, hindering cricket's long-term success.

Pakistan & West Indies - Shared struggles: Both countries face similar challenges in managing cricket, affecting performance and development.

Impact of leadership changes: Frequent leadership shifts at the PCB disrupt team stability, negatively impacting performance.

T20 leagues vs Test cricket: The growing focus on T20 leagues risks sidelining the future of Test cricket in Pakistan.

Lack of a long-term development plan: Without a strategic, long-term vision, Pakistan cricket faces a risk of further decline.

Lessons from West Indies’ decline: Pakistan can learn crucial lessons from the fall of West Indies cricket to avoid similar pitfalls.

Administrative instability's effect on players: Unstable administration leads to low player morale and inconsistent performances on the field.

Watch the full interview here:

 

[The Bald Eagle]

West Indies pitfall could be attributed to shift off attentions from Test to catchy T20 format. Fazeer is spot on, PCB need to act before its too late. Top class talent, not tailor made pitches is the way forward for them.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Pakistan should actually learn from west indies how they defeated Australia in Australia in a test match... Windies are a good white ball side as well, you can never underestimate them.

 

[hassan918]

He mentioned Nicholas Pooran and Shai Hope and I think he is right about Pooran but I think that Hope has the ability to succeed in test cricket. League cricket has certainly played a great part in the decline of West Indies red ball cricket and this is the fact that no one can deny. It doesn't look likely that we will see West Indies becoming a powerhouse in test match cricket in the next few years at least and it is sad to see the decline in interest by the top players to play test cricket.

 

[jnaveen1980]

West Indies is a team representing 15 countries. They kinda disintegrated.

 

[MenInG]

Well seems WI still have a point to prove against Pakistan!

 

[SpiritOf1903]

It's already happened?

 

[FearlessRoar]

West Indies is a team representing 15 countries. They kinda disintegrated.

But they are still showing the spirit of playing together as they proved it by defeating Pakistan in the second Test.

 

[jnaveen1980]

But they are still showing the spirit of playing together as they proved it by defeating Pakistan in the second Test.

They are more talented than what they display.

 

[Markhor]

He mentioned Nicholas Pooran and Shai Hope and I think he is right about Pooran but I think that Hope has the ability to succeed in test cricket. League cricket has certainly played a great part in the decline of West Indies red ball cricket and this is the fact that no one can deny. It doesn't look likely that we will see West Indies becoming a powerhouse in test match cricket in the next few years at least and it is sad to see the decline in interest by the top players to play test cricket.

They tried Shai Hope for a number of years but he didn't repay the selectors faith averaging 25 after 38 Tests.

Never kicked on after those Headingley twin tons in 2017.

The batsmen in FC cricket have horrific averages. 35 is their 50 ! The pitches aren't the best quality with some ragging square hence why the bowling charts are typically dominated by spin.