Loyal Pakistan cricket fans still cheering for this team: How do you do it?

[dildilpak]

Hey, Pakistani cricket fans who still tune in every game to support our team - what's your secret? How do you keep going after all the mess we've seen lately? It's like we're collecting more losses than runs these days!

Remember when we used to only lose to the big teams? Now we're getting beaten by everyone - even teams we used to laugh at! Our "superstars" are more like falling stars, and our fast bowlers? Well, let's just say snails are feeling threatened.

And don't get me started on our batsmen - they fall apart faster than a cheap umbrella in a storm. We still can't catch a ball to save our lives, and team spirit? What's that? Game awareness, tactics, fitness culture, fighting spirit - ha ha ha

The drama off the field with our ex players is even worse - it's like a bad soap opera.

So, to all you brave souls still cheering for this team - how do you do it? Because I'm this close to giving up on cricket and this team.

 

[uppercut]

Hey, Pakistani cricket fans who still tune in every game to support our team - what's your secret? How do you keep going after all the mess we've seen lately? It's like we're collecting more losses than runs these days!

Remember when we used to only lose to the big teams? Now we're getting beaten by everyone - even teams we used to laugh at! Our "superstars" are more like falling stars, and our fast bowlers? Well, let's just say snails are feeling threatened.

And don't get me started on our batsmen - they fall apart faster than a cheap umbrella in a storm. We still can't catch a ball to save our lives, and team spirit? What's that? Game awareness, tactics, fitness culture, fighting spirit - ha ha ha

The drama off the field with our ex players is even worse - it's like a bad soap opera.

So, to all you brave souls still cheering for this team - how do you do it? Because I'm this close to giving up on cricket and this team.

As a Indian fan I cannot claim to understand the despair of not being able to win Test matches at home and that too vs BD that is indeed a different low but we did suck really bad on away tours for long time. But we always had great players and these players were the reason that fans hung on to during tough times. Also we rarely ever miserably failed in ODI Worldcups.

Also not a bad Idea to take a break. But remember this ... the bigger the pain the sweeter the eventual success will taste.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Most have tuned out after the disaster in the T20WC.

I didn’t even feel the need to watch a single delivery of this test, just followed online and knew we would collapse if Bangladesh got a slender lead.

 

[Energy]

Pakistan has become an ideal punching bag for lower ranked teams and associates. That's due to the economic situation too.

So here we have a team that has cricket legacy, but currently they have no money, no confident players, no passion. It's a team that you'll fancy your chances against.

 

[Hikaru]

Can't speak for Pakistani fans, but me personally, as I aged, I stopped taking losses personally, it doesn't hurt me. 5 years ago I would be in pain about Arshad beating Neeraj for gold medal, but in my current mindset, I started enjoying Arshad's story too.

Move on and continue backing your useless team brother. <3

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

I am not sure if this is true but economic stability and GDP is generally linked with sports performance. But there are some outliers like Afghanistan who prove it wrong.

 

[AMSS]

That's due to the economic situation too.

So here we have a team that has cricket legacy, but currently they have no money, no confident players, no passion. It's a team that you'll fancy your chances against.

What economic situation? Pakistan was even poorer relative to ENG/AUS in 90s when they had their best cricketing years.

The economy thing is such a bogus excuse but used by one and all.

 

[Mohraheem]

Blame Misbah

 

[Energy]

What economic situation? Pakistan was even poorer relative to ENG/AUS in 90s when they had their best cricketing years.

The economy thing is such a bogus excuse but used by one and all.

Was Pakistan poor relative to Bangladesh, Afghanistan and USA in the 90s/00s?

 

[big_gamer007]

Pakistan already hit the bottom when they lost to USA team with software engineers.

Losing to BD is actually an improvement and if the graph continues upwards like this Pakistan would actually be a semi decent mid tier team by 2030/32.

 

[big_gamer007]

What economic situation? Pakistan was even poorer relative to ENG/AUS in 90s when they had their best cricketing years.

The economy thing is such a bogus excuse but used by one and all.

Do you know the reason for Pakistan/WI being good in 90s?

Your post just shows why Pakistan will always be a bad team, most fans even on nerdy forums like PP fail to grasp the holistic reasons why cricket declined in WI/Pak/SL etc

 

[DeadlyVenom]

You gotta take the downs with the ups. It's part of following a sports team. Some teams will be better than others, not every team wins cups.

As a fan you look for signs for optimism. There aren't many at the moment but something will spring up in the future.

We aren't going to be world beaters any time soon so we just have to accept it and see what the best is we can achieve over the next 4-5 years and hope that the cricketing infrastructure is improved.

 

[AMSS]

Was Pakistan poor relative to Bangladesh, Afghanistan and USA in the 90s/00s?

No, because USA did not have cricket, nor the Afghans. Bangladesh were still finding their feet in cricket.

The income gap in per capita terms between Bangladesh, Pakistan and even India, today, isn't so high that it'd have a material effect on cricketing achievement especially since cricket is the single biggest sport in these countries with no competition for talent.

Sri Lanka is an outlier and they always performed relatively better relative to their talent pool because they have always been MUCH more affluent than rest of subcontinental countries.You only need to visit Lanka to see how much more cleaner, neater and generally wealthier that country is relative to others. Despite their recent economic turbulence.

The premise that economic well being influences sporting success is 100 percent correct subject to certain caveats. But this effect only kicks in when the income disparity if over 2-3x between countries. This is not true between IND, BD and PAK.

 

[Rana]

No such thing as loyal pakistan fans. They are only fans of certain individuals to push narratives.

 

[Bhaijaan]

I still remain a believer in Pakistan cricket team, because from years of watching cricket, I am well aware that they will bounce back like the Cornered Tiger they have always been.

 

[uppercut]

No, because USA did not have cricket, nor the Afghans. Bangladesh were still finding their feet in cricket.

The income gap in per capita terms between Bangladesh, Pakistan and even India, today, isn't so high that it'd have a material effect on cricketing achievement especially since cricket is the single biggest sport in these countries with no competition for talent.

Sri Lanka is an outlier and they always performed relatively better relative to their talent pool because they have always been MUCH more affluent than rest of subcontinental countries.You only need to visit Lanka to see how much more cleaner, neater and generally wealthier that country is relative to others. Despite their recent economic turbulence.

The premise that economic well being influences sporting success is 100 percent correct subject to certain caveats. But this effect only kicks in when the income disparity if over 2-3x between countries. This is not true between IND, BD and PAK.

income disparity isn't the only factor ... corruption, nepotism combined with unfettered power are. Add overall political stability and security into the mix and we get what Pakistan are today.

 

[Major]

Sports.

You win some you lose some.

I have accepted that we may not be the worlds top team and have limited talent.

So we are not gonna win everything. Still i will support them because cricket is the only silver lining of the country.

I stopped watching cricket when misbah retired. Only watched psl, than i started watching icc tournaments during the 2021 world t20, and tha really got me excited somewhat once again.

You cant have everything go in your favor. Whether its your favourite playing or you wanting to win. I wish misbah we coul had seen misbah play for a few years, but cant happen.

Thing is, you need to learn not take losses at heart

 

[Major]

You gotta take the downs with the ups. It's part of following a sports team. Some teams will be better than others, not every team wins cups.

As a fan you look for signs for optimism. There aren't many at the moment but something will spring up in the future.

We aren't going to be world beaters any time soon so we just have to accept it and see what the best is we can achieve over the next 4-5 years and hope that the cricketing infrastructure is improved.

The infrastructure wont improve for the next 30 years. No one wants to employ the North American sports system.

The game is gonna survive in pakistan based on the stardom factor. People take up the sport as they believe its the way to stardom or a good income able career without any education.

 

[Vikram1989]

The premise that economic well being influences sporting success is 100 percent correct subject to certain caveats. But this effect only kicks in when the income disparity if over 2-3x between countries. This is not true between IND, BD and PAK.

U can't compare the individual per capita income to measure the facilities. Dhruv jurel was practicising against spin for 4 hours daily in rajastan royals franchise facilities. Today in India ,If someone wants to develop/practice in a game, they can avail the best facilities irrespective of per capita comparison.Shami brought a 5 acre private farm to set up the wickets to practice. Jaffer got jaiswal whatever he can to develop jaiswal.Infrastructure is the key .

 

[AMSS]

U can't compare the individual per capita income to measure the facilities. Dhruv jurel was practicising against spin for 4 hours daily in rajastan royals franchise facilities. Today in India ,If someone wants to develop/practice in a game, they can avail the best facilities irrespective of per capita comparison.Shami brought a 5 acre private farm to set up the wickets to practice. Jaffer got jaiswal whatever he can to develop jaiswal.Infrastructure is the key .

And you think similar facilities to young cricketers are not being made available by PSL franchises and PCB and departments? Pakistan does not need infra at the scale of India because they are 5-6x smaller.

And what did Jaffer made available to Jaiswal? Mumbai already has the best cricket infra in country, did Jaffer buy him a private practice facility? Lmao.

Sure, it's possible that India has slightly better and more accessible infra at present but it's not THAT superior. You want to see superior infra take a look at the facilities available in NZ, AUS or even Windies and South Africa to young kids. Nothing close to that exists in India.

 

[Vikram1989]

And you think similar facilities to young cricketers are not being made available by PSL franchises and PCB and departments? Pakistan does not need infra at the scale of India because they are 5-6x smaller.

And what did Jaffer made available to Jaiswal? Mumbai already has the best cricket infra in country, did Jaffer buy him a private practice facility? Lmao.

Sure, it's possible that India has slightly better and more accessible infra at present but it's not THAT superior. You want to see superior infra take a look at the facilities available in NZ, AUS or even Windies and South Africa to young kids. Nothing close to that exists in India.

Am talking about the quality of infra not any Infra.after watching pindi facilities, any body can guess the quality . We can discuss about the quality of facilities over the world but the point is everyone else is much better than pak atleast by 10 times.it shows in players fitness.

 

[Rana]

Sports.

You win some you lose some.

I have accepted that we may not be the worlds top team and have limited talent.

So we are not gonna win everything. Still i will support them because cricket is the only silver lining of the country.

I stopped watching cricket when misbah retired. Only watched psl, than i started watching icc tournaments during the 2021 world t20, and tha really got me excited somewhat once again.

You cant have everything go in your favor. Whether its your favourite playing or you wanting to win. I wish misbah we coul had seen misbah play for a few years, but cant happen.

Thing is, you need to learn not take losses at heart

You need to learn to be honest as well and address the issue

You especially

 

[AMSS]

Am talking about the quality of infra not any Infra.after watching pindi facilities, any body can guess the quality . We can discuss about the quality of facilities over the world but the point is everyone else is much better than pak atleast by 10 times.it shows in players fitness.

And did Pakistan have world class facilities in 90s and 80s compared to IND? Lmao

 

[mominsaigol]

You need to learn to be honest as well and address the issue

You especially

He stopped watching a sport because of one person, Started watching it again because of said person.

So what's the point? He can see things through one lens only.

Misbah had his good moments, Has his insane flaws etc etc, But he views Misbah as jesus, Some sort of flawless entity who can do no wrong. Their isnt a point

 

[Vikram1989]

And did Pakistan have world class facilities in 90s and 80s compared to IND? Lmao

At that time fitness and methodical approach was alien concept. Now it's part of game.now a days raw talent does not mean any zilch like azam khan's performance

 

[AMSS]

At that time fitness and methodical approach was alien concept. Now it's part of game.now a days raw talent does not mean any zilch like azam khan's performance

So you are saying Pakistan has more raw natural talent and that India has caught up only because of ''scientific and methodical'' fitness infra? LOL!

 

[Vikram1989]

So you are saying Pakistan has more raw natural talent and that India has caught up only because of ''scientific and methodical'' fitness infra? LOL!

Yeah not only india even usa,bng,nz d ,ireland also.

 

[sweep_shot]

You have to be with the team through good times and bad times. Otherwise, you are not a true fan.

 

[Bewal Express]

I will back them but it's hard when you see BD bowlers out pace and out skill your guys. But it's our team and we are not in a good place( to put it mildly)

 

[NishanKonar]

He stopped watching a sport because of one person, Started watching it again because of said person.

So what's the point? He can see things through one lens only.

Misbah had his good moments, Has his insane flaws etc etc, But he views Misbah as jesus, Some sort of flawless entity who can do no wrong. Their isnt a point

I can understand cult following for a Messi , Cristiano, Nadal, Djokovic , Lebron James, Kohli , Taylor Swift , Tom Brady

But such devotion for Misbah. I mean seriously ?

 

[mominsaigol]

I can understand cult following for a Messi , Cristiano, Nadal, Djokovic , Lebron James, Kohli , Taylor Swift , Tom Brady

But such devotion for Misbah. I mean seriously ?

The people you mentioned are the ones who are the face of their international fields

Theirs no denying that Messi and Ronaldo are the face of football in the same way Nadal and Djokovic are the face of tennis.

Similarly Taylor swift is the face of Pop

Kohli is the face of cricket and his explosive following shows that.

Now whether you think they are the best or they suck at their craft is irrelevant, theirs no denying that popularity wise they are the face of their respective sport.

Misbah on the other hand is a no body lol. Majority of cricket fans outside the world have forgetten about Misbah in the same vein that they forgot about rashid latif or Yousaf etc. I'm dead serious, here in Australia not alot of people know who misbah even is and they started watching cricket recently, however despite this even non cricket fans and people who started watching cricket yesterday know who Sachin is or who kohli is.

So it's baffling that theirs hero worship going on lol. Alot of his achievements are so trash but people view it as some next level hype train. Like he only had test no 1 rank for 2 weeks? And he never scored a single century in odi or has any memorable innings in whiteball, His best test century sadly has the displeasure of being tied to viv so it's overshadowed as well. And his captaincy record is terrible putside uae and in whiteball.

Compare that to arshad nadeem who literally everyone in Australia now knows. I've walked and talked to so many people who have asked me the question of

Rn atm Arshad nadeem is the face of Pakistan and also Imran Khan but in a negative way not a positive.

Misbah was never the face, just a footnote. Babar was the fraud face but all attention from him has faded away and eyes are on arshad atm.

 

[Red-Indian]

Hey, Pakistani cricket fans who still tune in every game to support our team - what's your secret? How do you keep going after all the mess we've seen lately? It's like we're collecting more losses than runs these days!

Remember when we used to only lose to the big teams? Now we're getting beaten by everyone - even teams we used to laugh at! Our "superstars" are more like falling stars, and our fast bowlers? Well, let's just say snails are feeling threatened.

And don't get me started on our batsmen - they fall apart faster than a cheap umbrella in a storm. We still can't catch a ball to save our lives, and team spirit? What's that? Game awareness, tactics, fitness culture, fighting spirit - ha ha ha

The drama off the field with our ex players is even worse - it's like a bad soap opera.

So, to all you brave souls still cheering for this team - how do you do it? Because I'm this close to giving up on cricket and this team.

Hang in there dude. In 15 years, you'll be grumping about the Johnny come latelies cheering your team on and talk about supporting the team when it was at it's worst and there wasn't a single ray of hope. Pakistan is too big a country and cricket is too passionately followed for it not to rebound.

There's a weird pride sometimes in following a team that's down in the dumps. Creates tribal loyalties and an intense fan following and it's especially delicious when the good times return. Just ask the guys who followed Manchester City through their 50 plus years of mediocrity.

 

[Major]

I will back them but it's hard when you see BD bowlers out pace and out skill your guys. But it's our team and we are not in a good place( to put it mildly)

Who cares to be honest.

International cricket lost its zing years ago.

Had this loss taken place in 2007, there would had been a protest outside Masood's house, his effigies would had been burned and on the way back also a few stones would had been pelted on Babar.

 

[Bewal Express]

Who cares to be honest.

International cricket lost its zing years ago.

Had this loss taken place in 2007, there would had been a protest outside Masood's house, his effigies would had been burned and on the way back also a few stones would had been pelted on Babar.

I agree to some extent that in the confused World of cricket, very little matters outside a few games but it's still painful to watch. For someone like me that has no interest in any franchise cricket except when there is literally nothing else to watch, I feel like a cricket orphan

 

[emranabbas]

There aren't many true Pakistan fans left; the majority now just supports individual players like Rizwan, Babar, Shadab, Shaheen, etc. As long as these players perform well once in a while against weaker teams, fans are content to support them.

 

[Abdullah]

I love test cricket and actually think we have a decent core of players for the format.
It's the board running and short termism in planning by administrators that I have issues with.

Imam
Abdullah
Saim
Shan
Babar
Saud
Huraira
Rizwan
Agha
Jamal
Abrar
Naseem
Shaheen
Khurram
Hamza
Ali


Get us another spinner and that is a decent core of test players who need to be managed professionally and correctly.
Get that bit right and the experience of the younger players in the last two world test cycles and the next cycle we should be pushing.

 

[AAli98]

Simple - when the likes of Masood azam shadab khan Ifty safraz are selected you expect the worse hope for the best.

 

[Bewal Express]

There aren't many true Pakistan fans left; the majority now just supports individual players like Rizwan, Babar, Shadab, Shaheen, etc. As long as these players perform well once in a while against weaker teams, fans are content to support them.

I can assure you that they can drop Babar, Riz and everyone else as long as we win. They are big boys they can look after themselves and don't need me as a sycophant. I am PK fan above all else and If Naqvi dropped all of them and retired them with a proper plan, I am all in favour. The problem is that he has no plan and that ain't happening.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

The infrastructure wont improve for the next 30 years. No one wants to employ the North American sports system.

The game is gonna survive in pakistan based on the stardom factor. People take up the sport as they believe its the way to stardom or a good income able career without any education.

I don't think it will ever improve to the level where we become a consistent test side home and away. There is no appetite, desire or skill for test cricket not just amongst the players but amongst the administrators and the fans too.

I think you are right, the game will survive due to stardom factor and this will be helped on by leagues and franchises. Poor kids will still want to become cricketers because it can be a ticket to dollars and overseas leagues. I think we should try and set ourselves up as a talent factory for short format than spend too much time and money reviving the longer format, which is probably going to die anywya.

 

[Bewal Express]

I love test cricket and actually think we have a decent core of players for the format.
It's the board running and short termism in planning by administrators that I have issues with.

Imam
Abdullah
Saim
Shan
Babar
Saud
Huraira
Rizwan
Agha
Jamal
Abrar
Naseem
Shaheen
Khurram
Hamza
Ali


Get us another spinner and that is a decent core of test players who need to be managed professionally and correctly.
Get that bit right and the experience of the younger players in the last two world test cycles and the next cycle we should be pushing.

After Babars dropping off, we don't have a top 10 batsman and arguably a top 20 bat in all conditions.

 

[gibsyhesperis]

Firstly if you are a true supporter you follow your side through thick and thin.

Secondly it is a complete fallacy, and of course ahistoric. to perceive Pakistan as a long-standing successful cricketing nation.
Throughout most of its history, as a cricketing side, it has been distinctly average — the 1960s were a particular nadir.
At the moment they are in a distinctly sub-average period, losing eight of their last twelve Tests.

For a short period of time, by the coalescence of some amazing players — Imran, Javed leading to Wasim, Waqar, Anwar, etc they were world beaters and went toe-to-toe with the best.
I was fortunate enough to live through that period and saw much of it first hand.

But other than that (and a few isolated triumphs in white ball cricket) , they are an average side who perform averagely.

Now, one could argue whether average is sufficient for a nation of 250 million people where cricket is the predominant sport, but that is a different discussion.

So embrace it — not everyone wants to support Real Madrid and are content supporting Leicester City.

 

[Kroll]

Some fans are deluded, I remember when they were taken in by the likes of Misbah's sweet talks. Not long ago, some of our players and ex-players were putting out tweets saying we had the best bowling attack in the world Some of the fans bought into these claims and were trying to tell us all how they were better than Indian and Aussie etc.

Bottom line is years and years of corruption and no proper investment as led us to where we are now. I don't blame the financials as much, we've never been a rich board. Granted the top 3 have pulled away, but we regularly lose to middling teams now as well as to other minnows.

 

[Major]

I love test cricket and actually think we have a decent core of players for the format.
It's the board running and short termism in planning by administrators that I have issues with.

Imam
Abdullah
Saim
Shan
Babar
Saud
Huraira
Rizwan
Agha
Jamal
Abrar
Naseem
Shaheen
Khurram
Hamza
Ali


Get us another spinner and that is a decent core of test players who need to be managed professionally and correctly.
Get that bit right and the experience of the younger players in the last two world test cycles and the next cycle we should be pushing.

Test cricket is tricky. You can get away with poor captaincy in limited overs, but in test cricket you cant.

Shan masood seems to be more interested in getting social media praises or look like an australian or english captain, where they make out of the box move and commentators go around praising.

I call it the white man phenomena, anything out of the ordinary, gets praised.

Anyways, Shan messed up with his team selection and a declaration. He simply under rated the Bangladesh side and ove rated his own bowling

 

[mominsaigol]

Firstly if you are a true supporter you follow your side through thick and thin.

Secondly it is a complete fallacy, and of course ahistoric. to perceive Pakistan as a long-standing successful cricketing nation.
Throughout most of its history, as a cricketing side, it has been distinctly average — the 1960s were a particular nadir.
At the moment they are in a distinctly sub-average period, losing eight of their last twelve Tests.

For a short period of time, by the coalescence of some amazing players — Imran, Javed leading to Wasim, Waqar, Anwar, etc they were world beaters and went toe-to-toe with the best.
I was fortunate enough to live through that period and saw much of it first hand.

But other than that (and a few isolated triumphs in white ball cricket) , they are an average side who perform averagely.

Now, one could argue whether average is sufficient for a nation of 250 million people where cricket is the predominant sport, but that is a different discussion.

So embrace it — not everyone wants to support Real Madrid and are content supporting Leicester City.

No one had an issue when they were an average side.

2017 is an average side, 2018 is an average side, 2019 is an average side. This side can pull of one or 2 tournaments wins in a decade or so, can pull of upsets against strong teams like England or sa but 99% of the time will get thrashed by Australia, India and even West Indies.

Alot of people don't understand this fact that we aren't stupid, We can view the sport with our own eyes.

Rn it's not average by any means. If you think this is average, then USA must ve some ATG team.

I'm tired of these comments now. I remember @Major Arguing losing to Ireland is no biggie on their school boy pitch, when a few years ago, Pakistan losing to west indies was seen as a shock result.

Now it's xone to the point that everyone is desensitised to it.

You guys just don't wish to admit the crimes of Misbah + Ramiz + Babar + Shan + Naqvi and frankly pcb for creating a system of nepo with the likes of azam, Shadab, Chacha and various others alongside wasting your 55M.

You're the 4th richest board and the best you can do is not even give people proper seats in pindi? The pitch is so bad, it takes 8 hours to prepare on a sunny day due to a few hours of rain prior.

 

[Devadwal]

Pakistan yet to lose this series so hold on .

they are yet to achieve more bad loss untill pakistan fan's stop hyping babar the number one batsman ,Shaheen and Naseem are world best fast bowlers etc.

Pakistan fan's were too happy when india lost the World cup 2023 final and were busy to criticised indian cricket but forget pakistan was out of group stages after losing to Afghanistan

Now getting reality check after one by one .

 

[PakistanMeriJaan]

They are still deciding to be sponsored by Pepsi. In my opinion, they deserve all the humiliation they can get and I hope more is on the way, until they get some morals and find a new sponsor.

 

[gibsyhesperis]

No one had an issue when they were an average side.

2017 is an average side, 2018 is an average side, 2019 is an average side. This side can pull of one or 2 tournaments wins in a decade or so, can pull of upsets against strong teams like England or sa but 99% of the time will get thrashed by Australia, India and even West Indies.

Alot of people don't understand this fact that we aren't stupid, We can view the sport with our own eyes.

Rn it's not average by any means. If you think this is average, then USA must ve some ATG team.

I'm tired of these comments now. I remember @Major Arguing losing to Ireland is no biggie on their school boy pitch, when a few years ago, Pakistan losing to west indies was seen as a shock result.

Now it's xone to the point that everyone is desensitised to it.

You guys just don't wish to admit the crimes of Misbah + Ramiz + Babar + Shan + Naqvi and frankly pcb for creating a system of nepo with the likes of azam, Shadab, Chacha and various others alongside wasting your 55M.

You're the 4th richest board and the best you can do is not even give people proper seats in pindi? The pitch is so bad, it takes 8 hours to prepare on a sunny day due to a few hours of rain prior.

I did actually say we are going through a distinctly “sub-average” period at the moment.

None of the individuals you mention (Misbah + Ramiz + Babar + Shan + Naqvi) were around during the other periods of poor results eg the 1960s.
Sadly many of the people on this board have no long term perspective on Pakistan cricket.
The exception has undoubtedly been the good results, not the bad ones….

However, the point about the PCB being a relatively wealthy board is fair — I would also add the fact that Pakistan has a population of 250 million and cricket is the preeminent sport, so maybe we should do better.
In contrast, whilst the ECB is wealthy, cricket is an increasingly niche sport in England, played predominately by south Asians and those who are privately educated

 

[Kroll]

Pakistan yet to lose this series so hold on .

they are yet to achieve more bad loss untill pakistan fan's stop hyping babar the number one batsman ,Shaheen and Naseem are world best fast bowlers etc.

Pakistan fan's were too happy when india lost the World cup 2023 final and were busy to criticised indian cricket but forget pakistan was out of group stages after losing to Afghanistan

Now getting reality check after one by one .

Don't forget Rizwan who wasn't merely a cricketer but Superman who would jump out of ICU through the window in a black cape to save save the day and Pakistan cricket. Not hearing much squawking out of him much these day or we might be but am just not paying attention.

Then there was Iftimania who was hyped to be the best finisher or something along those lines. The best we got out of him was posting his holiday snaps from America visiting Texas themed restaurants. All a bunch of bang average to mediocre cricketers.

 

[shaz619]

The loyalty is there due to nostalgia and a rich history, but it’s a bit like my relationship with the professional wrestling of today; I would describe the relationship as abusive, and that would have to be the case for most true Pakistan fans who still follow the team. But I am fortunate because I can support England and have the West Indies as my back up.

The new generation will still defend the team to death, and drool over superficial stats to pump up their fake GOAT’s; they’ve turned into everything they hate: ‘Fickle / delusional Indian fans.’

 

[mominsaigol]

I did actually say we are going through a distinctly “sub-average” period at the moment.

None of the individuals you mention (Misbah + Ramiz + Babar + Shan + Naqvi) were around during the other periods of poor results eg the 1960s.
Sadly many of the people on this board have no long term perspective on Pakistan cricket.
The exception has undoubtedly been the good results, not the bad ones….

However, the point about the PCB being a relatively wealthy board is fair — I would also add the fact that Pakistan has a population of 250 million and cricket is the preeminent sport, so maybe we should do better.
In contrast, whilst the ECB is wealthy, cricket is an increasingly niche sport in England, played predominately by south Asians and those who are privately educated

Oh bhai? 1960's khaan ka, 2024 khaan ka. Regardless agree with the rest

 

[BAADSHAH]

I support the team, I don’t blindly support the players.

Support your team through all the highs and lows.

If you don’t support the team during the lows, you don’t deserve to support the team during the highs.

Be angry during the lows, be upset, be whatever emotion you want (within reason)…but still support the team

 

[mon858]

1. Support of team shouldn't be based on results. It's based on which team is your team. Yes, you may not like certain players or their performance or selection, etc but you still support your team because it's your team.
2. These days one way I look at it as jo mulk ka haal hay wohi sports ka hoga. Poignant reminder in timing of this defeat at the hands of Bangladesh. Modern sports is often hinged on having professionalism, grassroots setup, investment, lack of corruption, merit, facilities, etc. When people become free and have semblance of justice in society, it may also help elevate the countries rank in areas like sports. It may not be night and day and overnight but it will contribute.

 

[BouncerGuy]

We are still cheering because this is Pakistan's team and I love this country of mine. That is the only reason I am still cheering for this team otherwise I would have stopped supporting this team in 2007.

 

[mominsaigol]

We are still cheering because this is Pakistan's team and I love this country of mine. That is the only reason I am still cheering for this team otherwise I would have stopped supporting this team in 2007.

The situation was never this bad in any era.

Pakistan in 2007 lost to Ireland yes, but the team was gelled.

Right now, your own team is not gelled one bit, it's a team that does not support itself.

Back in 2007 I'm 200% sure Shadab would never play ahead of abrar, Azam Khan would never get into the team, Shan masood would never be made captain.

You threw away the merit based system as soon as you brought Misbah as coach and chief selector.

Granted with how bad things are now, I don't blame people for viewing misbah as an Angel considering ramiz is 10X worse and Naqvi is 5 Million x worse

 

[batandballbattle]

I simply live with the pain

 

[Mamoon]

Cheering for the team is independent of the results. If you only support your team when they are successful, you are not a supporter. You are a glory hunter.

Some of the most passionately followed sports teams in the world are weak within their own competition and don’t stand a chance of winning whatever competition they are participating in, but that doesn’t stop their fans from cheering for them.

Pakistani fans should absolutely not stop cheering and supporting their team. That is completely different from wanting things to improve (as you should) and also be very realistic about where your team stands (as you should).

 

[arunp]

Hang in there dude. In 15 years, you'll be grumping about the Johnny come latelies cheering your team on and talk about supporting the team when it was at it's worst and there wasn't a single ray of hope. Pakistan is too big a country and cricket is too passionately followed for it not to rebound.

There's a weird pride sometimes in following a team that's down in the dumps. Creates tribal loyalties and an intense fan following and it's especially delicious when the good times return. Just ask the guys who followed Manchester City through their 50 plus years of mediocrity.

I do not think Pakistan will be or was a great dominating team. It requires a system to consistently dominate at world stage. IMO one of the reason CA/ECB and to give due credit BCCI off late has been able to consistently put in good teams. NZ and CSA as well, despite low interest and smaller population.
Plus economies matter. The way Pakistan economy is tanking + lack of interest in the game, means you will not see a consistently good Pakistani side in the foreseeable future.

 

[Red-Indian]

I do not think Pakistan will be or was a great dominating team. It requires a system to consistently dominate at world stage. IMO one of the reason CA/ECB and to give due credit BCCI off late has been able to consistently put in good teams. NZ and CSA as well, despite low interest and smaller population.
Plus economies matter. The way Pakistan economy is tanking + lack of interest in the game, means you will not see a consistently good Pakistani side in the foreseeable future.

That's the thing with sport though. You don't always need a efficient, well-oiled system backed by a growing economy to produce success. A system helps to build sustainable talent but sometimes success can emerge out of nowhere. India invested 100s of crores in sport development over the last 5-6 years including massive expenditure on Neeraj Chopra's training and support staff but it was Arshad Nadeem who practices in a gym with no machine younger than him and was begging for poles for practice who won the gold.

There's nothing so bad about about Pakistani cricket that a couple of superstars emerging out of nowhere can't fix. With millions of young kids playing and practising with stars in the their eyes, a Wasim Akram or Imran can always suddenly appear. Given the talent pool, the rest of the team will always be decent enough to win around these couple of hypothetical stars.

 

[arunp]

That's the thing with sport though. You don't always need a efficient, well-oiled system backed by a growing economy to produce success. A system helps to build sustainable talent but sometimes success can emerge out of nowhere. India invested 100s of crores in sport development over the last 5-6 years including massive expenditure on Neeraj Chopra's training and support staff but it was Arshad Nadeem who practices in a gym with no machine younger than him and was begging for poles for practice who won the gold.

Consistently producing good sports teams/champions requires an infrastructure. Arshad Nadeem is an exception and I am not very familiar with his performances outside of Olympics, so I won't go into that.
for example: India is consistently producing decent baddy players due to the system(Gopichand/Padukone academy) where a large pool of players compete and improve their skills. Haryana/UP has infrastructure for sports.(wrestling/boxing). These require a lot of money to be invested and for a lot of people to unsuccessfully develop their life to the sport, which one cannot afford to in India's per capita GDP.
To expect that in Pak economy is not possible IMO.

Imran Khan was not a prodigy. He learnt his craft in England and practiced in England/Australia. Wasim Akram was groomed by IK. Even during their peak, Pak never dominated the world cricket. All through the 90's they were a mid tier team.
Their dominance over India can be easily correlated to GDP/captia difference between the countries.
Same holds true for olympics. Neeraj Chopra might have won silver, but tbere are 2-3 more Indian Javelin throwers who are also competing now. Once we reach a critical mass, we will have a good javelin thrower being thrown up by the system consistently.

 

[RidiculousMan]

Hey, Pakistani cricket fans who still tune in every game to support our team - what's your secret? How do you keep going after all the mess we've seen lately? It's like we're collecting more losses than runs these days!

Remember when we used to only lose to the big teams? Now we're getting beaten by everyone - even teams we used to laugh at! Our "superstars" are more like falling stars, and our fast bowlers? Well, let's just say snails are feeling threatened.

And don't get me started on our batsmen - they fall apart faster than a cheap umbrella in a storm. We still can't catch a ball to save our lives, and team spirit? What's that? Game awareness, tactics, fitness culture, fighting spirit - ha ha ha

The drama off the field with our ex players is even worse - it's like a bad soap opera.

So, to all you brave souls still cheering for this team - how do you do it? Because I'm this close to giving up on cricket and this team.

Keep adjusting your expectations

 

[sweep_shot]

As a Bangladeshi fan, I have experienced far worse than what Pakistani fans are now experiencing. LOL.

Having said that, I enjoy many different teams. So, it is not too bad. I am a cricket fan before a Bangladeshi fan.

As a cricket fan, Aussie team give me the most entertainment.

 

[ayemgilani86]

Hey, Pakistani cricket fans who still tune in every game to support our team - what's your secret? How do you keep going after all the mess we've seen lately? It's like we're collecting more losses than runs these days!

Remember when we used to only lose to the big teams? Now we're getting beaten by everyone - even teams we used to laugh at! Our "superstars" are more like falling stars, and our fast bowlers? Well, let's just say snails are feeling threatened.

And don't get me started on our batsmen - they fall apart faster than a cheap umbrella in a storm. We still can't catch a ball to save our lives, and team spirit? What's that? Game awareness, tactics, fitness culture, fighting spirit - ha ha ha

The drama off the field with our ex players is even worse - it's like a bad soap opera.

So, to all you brave souls still cheering for this team - how do you do it? Because I'm this close to giving up on cricket and this team.

i havent cheered for this team since Younis Khan was ousted, only supported them in between when Sarfaraz was captain but then he was compromised as well. Misbah, Azhar Ali days were the worst before the current 'worse' phase of our cricket