June 2017 to June 2019 - 2 long years

[shahidrazzaq]

Finally, Amir always beats the batsmen in his opening spell, but he needs a bit of luck to get them out, and he had that luck against the Indian top order.

All the above could have happened with the current Pakistani team, though Indian team selection and the way the top order played Amir were a lot smarter this time around.

1. What luck did he need? If anything, Kohli got his luck by being dropped by Azhar Ali and got dismissed the first ball. Amir was playing attacking cricket, got the top 3 plumb lbw, caught behind, and playing a stroke poorly.

2. Amir hasn't been able to swing the ball, but his accuracy forced India to play around him -- which proved to be smart as they thrashed Hassan and those two misplaced overs from Malik and Hafeez. All credit to Indian batsman.

 

[AdamM97]

Greatest injustice to Haris Sohail

Raillu Katta Imad has a better average than our batsmen excluding Haris. What is going on...

 

[Saj]

The reality is that since the Champions Trophy final most of the players have gone downhill in terms of performance and fitness.

There may be more than one reason for this, but it's a fact.

 

[topspin]

India's CT final loss was actually a blessing in disguise because it allowed them to broadly assess the way the team was formulated; from the starting XI to head coach. Consequently, they replaced Kumble and their previous inferior ODI spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja, who were horribly exposed by Fakhar (and to an extent even Azhar Ali) on the day! As their successors, Kuldeep and Chahal have been nothing short of brilliant and due their quality, India has no issues with carrying 4 x tail-enders because they have every confidence, they can bowl out opposition for below-par totals.

This is yet another example of India's big team mentality. They are simply always looking to improve and bolster their options, for the greater good of their end goals.

For Pakistan the CT win was a curse because it gave our meek and mediocre players all this "superstar syndrome", as exemplified by Hasan Ali's antics at the Wagah border. Secondly, it gave Sarfraz the licence to sit back and lose all focus on his fitness + diet and overall training regime. He regressed as a player and visibly as an athlete. Him losing the dressing room was always inevitable if you are not contributing to the team and leading by example. I have no sympathy for him and he truly deserves everything that comes his way - he brought this upon himself!

 

[Savak]

The reality is that since the Champions Trophy final most of the players have gone downhill in terms of performance and fitness.

There may be more than one reason for this, but it's a fact.

Lol with fat bank accounts comes the opportunity to indulge in delicacies 24/7. The PCB should have been strict with the players like fat shaming which Umar Akmal received in 2017. No other way around this.

 

[Ronaldo7]

Raillu Katta Imad has a better average than our batsmen excluding Haris. What is going on...

It's coz of all of his not outs. Without them he averages 16.

 

[shah_1]

Raillu Katta Imad has a better average than our batsmen excluding Haris. What is going on...

Not outs

 

[AdamM97]

Not outs

Nevertheless, these are shocking averages by our batsmen. We always talk about Amirs form but never our batsmens form. Really shocking this.

 

[Saj]

Lol with fat bank accounts comes the opportunity to indulge in delicacies 24/7. The PCB should have been strict with the players like fat shaming which Umar Akmal received in 2017. No other way around this.

Also after the Champions Trophy win, some of these guys actually believed they are better than what they are. Sometimes the dizzy heights can come too soon in a career.

 

[Kroll]

We haven't been ruthless enough, in fact been way too soft. Some players because of their guaranteed spots treat the team as bunch of their lounge buddies that you would go and meet down at the local coffee shop. The likes of Wahab, Hafeez, Sarfraz, Malik and Imad need to be kicked out for good. Non performers like Hasan need to be dropped. Only then will players realise what it means to play for the green jersey and the passion it represents.

 

[shahidrazzaq]

This is a topic for fans to rightfully be emotional for, however I'll try my best to list out the most objective, underlying issues for Pakistani cricket since the Champions Trophy triumph.

The following numbered points should are problems specifically prevalent throughout the last two year patch. I'll mention these issues first, except note these are problems that have hurt Pakistani cricket for far longer than just 2 years: Refusal to adopt fitness and fielding standards (has fielding at times improved? Yes. But we are still treating fielding as an accessory to batting and bowling, rather than an essential 3rd facet of the game), and failure to adapt to modern-game (whether in scoring rate, straying away from bowling at the wicket or completely straying away from yorkers, etc). Also, we have never been a good chasing team and that has sewed deep into our culture.

2017-2019
1. Over-reliance on our top-three
2. Failure to take wickets in the powerplay
3. Failure to take wickets in the middle phase, particularly Hasan Ali who has maintained his poor economy but tarnished his frequency in wicket-taking. Excluding performances against AFG, HK, and a performance against Sri Lanka in Oct'17 which earned him the MotS award due to his 14 wickets in 5 matches -- since the start of 2018, Hasan Ali is averaging nearly 65 with the ball at 6.5 per over. (This guy was half of the reason we made it to that CT17 Final)
4. Assuming Amir is a primary strike bowler off of one 3-wicket performance against India
5. Inconsistency from PCB and selection
6. Continued persistence in weak middle order (and continued exclusion of Haris Sohail lol)
7. Having a captain who often fails at holding his weight as an individual batsman and fielder in the playing XI
8. Choosing to bowl first when our team continues to fail at chasing against good teams
9. Over-reliance on predominantly bowling all-rounders to anchor an innings

 

[Ami]

It will take time...full stop.

One way or another the PCB will have to come up with a workable system, whether it takes 10 years or 15.

India haven't become world beaters overnight, it has taken time...may be the serious minded politicians of the early 1990s kick started it with the sort of Country - First progressive policies that bore fruit for the country as well as having a knock on affect in the sports arena; not just cricket but other sports as well.

Better economy leading to an accountable and a transparent system which empowers people to a professional and a confident outlook, especially the decision makers.

May be this is what Pakistan needs too...may be the likes of IK will inspire other parties to get their act together and think Pakistan - First too.

May be, Wasim Khan will help revolutionise PCB and turn it into a minor miracle...may be PCB will be the catalyst of a change that will reverbarate into the rest of the country.

Hope Lives....

 

[Haroon786]

During the CT! beat the hosts and the fav. What else do you want them to do in tournament play?

I agree, you can't do more than that in a tournament than winning it. However, considering their performances in the CT, it is fair to say that week of par excellence form was an outlier compared to the vast majority of performances by the team.

 

[zulfiqar]

This is a topic for fans to rightfully be emotional for, however I'll try my best to list out the most objective, underlying issues for Pakistani cricket since the Champions Trophy triumph.

The following numbered points should are problems specifically prevalent throughout the last two year patch. I'll mention these issues first, except note these are problems that have hurt Pakistani cricket for far longer than just 2 years: Refusal to adopt fitness and fielding standards (has fielding at times improved? Yes. But we are still treating fielding as an accessory to batting and bowling, rather than an essential 3rd facet of the game), and failure to adapt to modern-game (whether in scoring rate, straying away from bowling at the wicket or completely straying away from yorkers, etc). Also, we have never been a good chasing team and that has sewed deep into our culture.

2017-2019
1. Over-reliance on our top-three
2. Failure to take wickets in the powerplay
3. Failure to take wickets in the middle phase, particularly Hasan Ali who has maintained his poor economy but tarnished his frequency in wicket-taking. Excluding performances against AFG, HK, and a performance against Sri Lanka in Oct'17 which earned him the MotS award due to his 14 wickets in 5 matches -- since the start of 2018, Hasan Ali is averaging nearly 65 with the ball at 6.5 per over. (This guy was half of the reason we made it to that CT17 Final)
4. Assuming Amir is a primary strike bowler off of one 3-wicket performance against India
5. Inconsistency from PCB and selection
6. Continued persistence in weak middle order (and continued exclusion of Haris Sohail lol)
7. Having a captain who often fails at holding his weight as an individual batsman and fielder in the playing XI
8. Choosing to bowl first when our team continues to fail at chasing against good teams
9. Over-reliance on predominantly bowling all-rounders to anchor an innings

All good points to reflect upon after the tournament is over. For now though... I just hope some people put their hands up and say enough is enough, I'm going to perform! That's what sports magic is all about isn't it? Obviously the strength of your team matters, but it's not all that matters, or the La Liga Cup final would always be played between FCB and RM, and Champions league final could be a lottery pick between the top 4 teams. Pakistani team still has matchwinners, and it just takes a few to perform in tandem to win a game (even against a top team). That's basically what happened 2 years ago, and it can happen again - if the team is up for it!

 

[Savak]

Hopefully the Champions Trophy nasha is over now