How has Pakistan cricket let itself fall so far behind in the sport?

[Theo_14]

I probably started to understand cricket and become a fan of it when the so called ‘Salman Butt era in 2010’ started with the likes of Mohammed Aamir, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Umar Amin being the “new blood.” That was quickly overshadowed by the Spot fixing saga.

If you are from the Gen Z generation then like myself clearly we haven’t seen the golden era which Gen X and Gen Y experienced for decades especially periods before 2003-04.

I look at our team now and it is extremely sad what I see. We don’t have a artistic bowler who can naturally swing the ball both ways, we don’t have a frightening pacy bowler, we don’t have a specialist mysterious spinner, we don’t even have a part time bowler Ala Hafeez who can contribute here and there. We don’t have a late powerful hitter or finisher with the bat either. The depth and quality in players has decreased dramatically if we compare it to the past decades. Remember at one point as back up we had Iftikhar Anjum, Yasir Arafat and Rana Naveed etc

With technology improving, more money in the game, cricket being back in Pakistan for almost 7/8 years, marketing and exposure being a tool anyone can use to their advantage, why are we still so poor at grassroot level, domestic level and International level?

I look at the Pakistan cricket team right now playing against Australia, and it is so depressing, there is no excitement, no aag, no wow factors, no swag, no aura in the team. No depth, no world class potential talent to be excited for.

Sad state of affairs, but this decline which has been happening for a long time is happening rapidly at a quicker pace.

Does anyone agree that we are probably at our lowest point in Pakistan cricket since one can recall in terms of quality? Why have we fallen so behind? How many decades are we aware from being a top challenging team again?

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

I lived through the 90s generation and let me tell you they were head and shoulders above anything that came after.

At one point our fast bowling unit was Shoaib, Waqar and Wasim.

Our all rounders were Wasim and Afridi.

We had Youhana, Inzamam, Ijaz Ahmed and Saeed Anwar in the batting.

We had Saqlain and Mushtaq Ahmed in spin.

We were fully stacked at all levels. World class.

 

[Suleiman]

All the money PCB makes, most of it goes into their pockets rather than into the cricket system.

As I’ve stated before.. one look at the footage of our domestic cricket will let you know everything you need to know.

Teams having the same jersey, horrid outfield which if you dived on would result in you breaking 80% of your bones, camera quality from back when Hitler was still alive, dead pitches giving way to crouching stance batsmen who get exposed as soon as they step outside Asia, and where fast bowlers hopes and dreams go to die.

 

[chinaman00]

Pakistan cricket is a microcosm of Pakistan and its society and culture. In many ways, if you want to understand the decline of Pakistan, the best place to start is its cricketing culture.

Expecting a world class cricket from a tumultuous and dysfunctional nation is foolhardy. There might be a moment of brilliance/miracles just like how the Pakistani state is able to secure loans the last minute before defaulting, but generally it’s a pitifully failed state.

The sooner people understand this, the better.

 

[Buffet]

I suspect answer lies in domestic being not good. It was not so great even earlier but county cricket was helping to polish cricketers. County cricket used to be pretty good then, Not sure how good it is now. Anyway, not many players can play now due to limitations so it's not relevant.

 

[ElRaja]

the big 3 professionalised and pak are still semi pro, from their fitness levels, to analytics and most importantly mental preparation.

pak were a top team when every team was semi pro. pak dont have the attitude or culture of high performance and scientific method, everything is intuition and talent with virtually no development.

 

[emranabbas]

some believe this is the best era of cricket for pakistan ever, rizwan babar shaheen shadab harris are the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[Junaids]

Pakistan domestic cricket has always been absolute garbage, and it completely fails to groom promising players into technically skilled ones.

I have been watching Pakistan since the mid-1970s. Not one fast bowler has developed his skills at home:

Imran Khan developed in England
Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shaheen were fast-tracked into the national team.
Mohammad Asif was a mediocre player when he made his Test debut, and really only developed with the national team.

Batting is even worse.

Multiple players in the 60s and 70s developed in English county cricket.

Inzamam, Yousuf and Saeed Anwar never actually reached their full potential, and neither did Younis Khan.

I would point to two players as absolute catastrophes for Pakistan in terms of their development.

Shahid Afridi and Shadab Khan both emerged with the talent to be global superstars, as they had the ability to average 40 in Tests with the bat and to be Moeen Ali-quality spinners. But both were attracted to white ball nonsense, and have ruined their own careers. Shahid Afridi by the probable age of 20 had played 14 Tests for 780 Test runs at 32.50 and 21 wickets at 31.47.

Yet he retired with just 27 Tests played, for 1716 runs at 36.51, and 48 wickets at 35.60. What a waste!

Similarly, by the age of 21, Shadab Khan had played 6 Tests, all away, with 300 runs at 33.33 and 14 wickets at 36.64.

Three years on, he hasn't played another Test.

Nobody improves in Pakistan cricket. The only hope is that players get fast-tracked into the national team, where they play against better opponents in the nets and have access to properly qualified coaches. (And Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah-ul-Haq.)

 

[Theo_14]

Pakistan cricket is a microcosm of Pakistan and its society and culture. In many ways, if you want to understand the decline of Pakistan, the best place to start is its cricketing culture.

Expecting a world class cricket from a tumultuous and dysfunctional nation is foolhardy. There might be a moment of brilliance/miracles just like how the Pakistani state is able to secure loans the last minute before defaulting, but generally it’s a pitifully failed state.

The sooner people understand this, the better.

I think this post nails it. The issue is far deep rooted then one can imagine. This stems from the culture, common practices in the mindset, way of living and philosophies of individuals and families in Pakistan.

Until we see changes in the culture, change in habits, we cannot see major progressive changes in the sporting facet of the game.

I think another point to mention with the youngsters - and failing to fulfill their potential, they have all the facilities to improve their game and fitness but unlike the Wasims, Waqars, they have social media and the avenues to live a temporary celebrity life to distract them from achieving that.

 

[Kianig89]

For any sporting team be it cricket football hockey , first thing is stability and by stability we mean recognising a group of players which will take you forward the next thing is sticking to them for some tangible period.
Since Misbah left the Test side, Pakistan is not doing the basics we change and chop and then specifically for Test cricket we don't have a proper itinerary a consistent long rope where team plays 5-6 Test matches back to back infact we have scrapped some Tests for LOIS.

There is no consistency in selection specifically when it comes to bowling, Pakistan has no planning bowlers are injured and dropped, its all circus

 

[hitthestump]

some believe this is the best era of cricket for pakistan ever, rizwan babar shaheen shadab harris are the best thing since sliced bread.

Nobody has said this.

 

[Dantheone]

It's more like other teams improved their game tremendously while Pakistan cricket continues to be 2 decades past. Bowling has suffered the most specially the spin department. Mentally also the team lacks the ability. Not sure how can they improve from here.

 

[batandballbattle]

For any sporting team be it cricket football hockey , first thing is stability and by stability we mean recognising a group of players which will take you forward the next thing is sticking to them for some tangible period.
Since Misbah left the Test side, Pakistan is not doing the basics we change and chop and then specifically for Test cricket we don't have a proper itinerary a consistent long rope where team plays 5-6 Test matches back to back infact we have scrapped some Tests for LOIS.

There is no consistency in selection specifically when it comes to bowling, Pakistan has no planning bowlers are injured and dropped, its all circus

Good point raised here, I mean just compare both the aussie and PK teams a year apart.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Institutional corruption and nepotism

 

[kingusama92]

I lived through the 90s generation and let me tell you they were head and shoulders above anything that came after.

At one point our fast bowling unit was Shoaib, Waqar and Wasim.

Our all rounders were Wasim and Afridi.

We had Youhana, Inzamam, Ijaz Ahmed and Saeed Anwar in the batting.

We had Saqlain and Mushtaq Ahmed in spin.

We were fully stacked at all levels. World class.

And it wasn't just the quality of the players.

The players were also tough for those who didn't watch these teams. They brought incredible flair and entertainment to the field, which is completely gone now.

Yes, they lost games (basically underachieved), had loads of in-fighting and there were fixing allegations, but they also brought passion to the sport. The guys these days are timid and look to be going through the motions in big games. It's like they've lost the game before a delivery is bowled.

I can never imagine an Akhtar, Wasim, or Waqar thinking like that while running in and bowling.

 

[praveen]

The fans and their expectations are equally to blame. The 90’s and early 2000’s cricketers earned their fame. Started going downhill when a mediocre cricketer like Shahid Afridi became a big superstar.

 

[ElRaja]

also something which doesnt get mentioned much from what ive seen, pak won test matches on the strength of their bowling, now we dont have any spinners and its obvious our seamers are sand bagging, none of them want to risk injury if it means they miss out on leagues. unless pak pay up no seamer is gonna risk an injury in tests.

back in the day even if pace dropped, you saw the first spell of the day, or the first spell with the second new ball quicks gave it everything, for all the hate shoaib akhter got, he went full pelt most of his test career. now we have new ball bowlers talking about line and length whilst being unable to maintain either.

 

[Theo_14]

also something which doesnt get mentioned much from what ive seen, pak won test matches on the strength of their bowling, now we dont have any spinners and its obvious our seamers are sand bagging, none of them want to risk injury if it means they miss out on leagues. unless pak pay up no seamer is gonna risk an injury in tests.

back in the day even if pace dropped, you saw the first spell of the day, or the first spell with the second new ball quicks gave it everything, for all the hate shoaib akhter got, he went full pelt most of his test career. now we have new ball bowlers talking about line and length whilst being unable to maintain either.

Such a good point. I think back in 2010s etc leagues were still a big thing, it was almost considered as a sin to disregard your international duties for T20 league duties; look what KP had to go through or ICL around 2008 period.

Now the dynamics of cricket have changed. Players find it easier and important to be involved in these stint leagues so as a result workload has increased, pace has decreased and we don’t see players improving because they either come from these league games (PSL) or are signed up to several leagues so priorities and motivation direction changes.

The likes of Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Wasim Khan, Fakhar Zaman are products of PSL, yes it’s been great to have them in the national side; but have they improved their game at all? They haven’t. Have they transitioned into test format? They haven’t. Why? Because they came from PSL, and never really invested in developing their game at FC cricket level or longer periods at county level.

These little factors in hindsight have affected Pakistan greatly especially when our domestic and grassroot is already so poor. Hell, we even use cameras from the 70s, no HD production at domestic level either.

I’m afraid Pakistan cricket is heading towards the direction of Hockey.

 

[adzzy786]

I lived through the 90s generation and let me tell you they were head and shoulders above anything that came after.

At one point our fast bowling unit was Shoaib, Waqar and Wasim.

Our all rounders were Wasim and Afridi.

We had Youhana, Inzamam, Ijaz Ahmed and Saeed Anwar in the batting.

We had Saqlain and Mushtaq Ahmed in spin.

We were fully stacked at all levels. World class.

His name is Mohammed Yousaf, not Youhana. Have some respect for the great man

 

[Nasty Naz]

It all begins from the top down. You have PCB chairman/coaches/selectors being changed more often than a person buys socks. It's truly hard to implement any proper vision when things change so often and are so chaotic. The hires to run the PCB itself are political appointments. No one gets hired on the basis of actually being qualified, it's about who you are friends with and if they know you.

It goes further than just the chairman because they hire their own friends or people they know to be selectors/coaches and I am sure domestic itself is so chaotic that no one can even keep a track of all the shenanigans happening there. As a player, you have batting & bowling seemingly being changed every few months whispering something in your ear. If you are a player, why even bother listening when they know you'll be gone in a few months?

There's always talk about impact, being a match winner etc but then when it comes to selections, they will select whoever has topped the most runs & wickets chart and in the end, its all talk. Players end up facing most of the brunt for the failures because they are in the most front facing role but a lot of is out of their control. They are brought with old coaching tactics that don't understand the modern demands. Their bowling action and technical issues aren't fixed at an earlier age, its often when they get to the International level these things get exposed. Not to mention the woeful infrastructure, the ever changing domestic setup, poor pitches, balls used at the domestic level, lack of high end & modern equipment. If you bring up bio mechanics to the bowling coaches we hire, they would probably think you invented a new word. There's no analytics level thinking in their decision making in terms how the players are utilized. There is simply no development of players,

I watch a lot of North American sports so I will use that example here. The teams that are the worst run here are ones with meddling ownership. Owners that simply hire the best general manager for the job who then hires the best possible coach for the job are often the best run. I am oversimplifying it here but that is what the PCB chairman job should be. Until Pakistan gets some consistency in their setup, the issues will remain the same. You will get the occasional raw talent that breaks through despite the system & setup issues but there will be no consistency with it and you won't get the quantity of great players you want.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Too many controversies, inconsistency in the selection of players, and chairmanship, players opting to play more t20 cricket rather than grinding and grooming themselves in red ball format.

 

[Mamoon]

I lived through the 90s generation and let me tell you they were head and shoulders above anything that came after.

At one point our fast bowling unit was Shoaib, Waqar and Wasim.

Our all rounders were Wasim and Afridi.

We had Youhana, Inzamam, Ijaz Ahmed and Saeed Anwar in the batting.

We had Saqlain and Mushtaq Ahmed in spin.

We were fully stacked at all levels. World class.

Blinded by nostalgia.

The 90’s team produced poor results and got humiliated by India in every World Cup.

Better than current Pakistan without any doubt, but not as good as people think or make them look to be.

Not a world class team.

 

[nuttyprof]

I lived through the 90s generation and let me tell you they were head and shoulders above anything that came after.

At one point our fast bowling unit was Shoaib, Waqar and Wasim.

Our all rounders were Wasim and Afridi.

We had Youhana, Inzamam, Ijaz Ahmed and Saeed Anwar in the batting.

We had Saqlain and Mushtaq Ahmed in spin.

We were fully stacked at all levels. World class.

Other than India, which was an extremely poor team. I don't remember 90's Pak team producing significantly great results, demolishing cricket teams in their backyard.

 

[kingusama92]

Blinded by nostalgia.

The 90’s team produced poor results and got humiliated by India in every World Cup.

Better than current Pakistan without any doubt, but not as good as people think or make them look to be.

Not a world class team.

You always use the word "fluke" for Pakistan's wins in tournaments.

Pakistan was a much stronger team back then. I remember in the late 90s they won like 8-9 matches in a row against India along with multiple tri-series in a row involving India.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

Other than India, which was an extremely poor team. I don't remember 90's Pak team producing significantly great results, demolishing cricket teams in their backyard.

This is the calibre of the players in that team. Ignore the results because the 90s was a murkey period but just appreciate the numbers.














Half the team is filled with world class players. High quality test players.

 

[BouncerGuy]

That loss in the final of the 1999 World Cup was a heartbreak for many. It was the strongest squad for Pakistan in the World Cups but they lost to Australia. Since then, this team has declined due to monopoly of players and controversies in PCB.

 

[Mamoon]

You always use the word "fluke" for Pakistan's wins in tournaments.

Pakistan was a much stronger team back then. I remember in the late 90s they won like 8-9 matches in a row against India along with multiple tri-series in a row involving India.

Pakistan lost almost home Test series 95 onwards. Strong teams don’t lose home Test series.

Post 92, Pakistan had 2-3 quality players. Everyone else was average or just above average and not as good as today’s fans think.

For example, I find it funny when people rate the likes of Ijaz and Amir Sohail as quality players. Both were bang average.

Same goes for wicket-keepers like Moin and Rashid. Moin was a liability both sides of the stumps. Rashid was a brilliant wicket-keeper but a glorified tailender with the bat.

90’s Pakistan would lose heavily to almost every top team of today in all formats although I don’t doubt that they would probably beat current Pakistan in all formats.

 

[big_gamer007]

It’s pretty simple yet most people don’t understand the concept.
Downfall of Pak cricket started even before its rise, i.e. during the Zia-Ul-Haq administration when Pakistan as a nation changed its course of action.


In 70s, 80s and even somewhat in 90s the best Pakistani talent were groomed in the hard county circuit. So they performed well.

But now cricket has become a modern sport where grassroots and domestic structure is a must. Unfortunately for Pakistan they never invested in it the same way as India did, they just relied on talent but in modern day talent won’t get you to the top.

Where Pakistan as a nation failed its cricketers compared to India is building a sound domestic structure and this is due to the result of the Zia Ul Haq administration I mentioned. That administration regressed the mindset of Pakistan which took decades to reflect on the society but you can still see it now in the nation where you guys have extremism. This extremism never resulted in sponsorship and funding in sports and whatever money went into to cricketing sphere most of it was lost due to corruption.

Why would any foreign company invest in Pakistan when it is considered an unsafe and risky nation?

Sub continent folks generally lack critical thinking and don’t see the bigger picture, but the crux of most of Pakistani issues of today’s goes to the change in mindset of the entire nation during the late 60s, 70s.