Nearly 30 years on.......why hasn't Pakistan won a World Cup since 1992?

[Saj]

Next year it will be 30 years since Pakistan won the World Cup at the MCG.

A team that had a bit of luck on the way, bounced back after early setbacks, were well-lead by an inspirational captain, had a great bowling talent in Wasim Akram, had a great combination of youth and experience and where some in the team peaked just at the right time.

There have been 7 World Cups since 1992, with Pakistan reaching the final in 1999 at Lord's against Australia. Overall their performances have been a disappointment in World Cup tournaments.

So, why hasn't a great cricketing nation like Pakistan managed to win the tournament for nearly 30 years?

 

[Suleiman]

Peaked at the wrong time and won 2017 champions trophy instead

 

[Mesozoic]

It's a travesty that India and Pakistan have won only 3 world cups between them. We should have won atleast 5 by now (3 India 2 Pak) , considering that we have 80% of the total cricketing market.

Pakistan should have won atleast one of '96, '99 and 2011 editions... Same with India for '87, '03 and 2019.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

We were close and i think 1999 was the most heart breaking of all, we should've won that in my view. In 2011 that was a complete and utter brain along with a useless innings from Misbah (sorry to say).

 

[Mamoon]

The 1992 World Cup destroyed Pakistan’s mentality and ushered an era of inconsistency and lack of professionalism.

It made Pakistan fall in love with inconsistency and mediocrity which they romanticized as unpredictability and mercuriality.

All this cornered tigers nonsense means absolutely nothing. Success is a process and professionalism and methodical approach breeds consistency which means a greater chance of winning tournaments.

The tragedy is that Pakistan continues to drown in its own mediocrity and doesn’t realize that the rotten cricket culture of Pakistan needs a factory reset.

Pakistan cricket needs a collective effort - we need to forget the past, stop being delusional about the so-called “aggressive DNA” of Pakistan cricket and all the buzz over the so-called “talent” that doesn’t really exist.

Pakistan is the least talented and least intelligent cricket nation in the world and has been for a very long time. As a result, we keep making wrong diagnosis because we are generally clueless about why we struggle so much.

When we win we don’t know why and how we won and when we lose we don’t know why and how we lost. The entire Pakistan cricket community - the players, coaches, selectors, analysts, ex-players and even the fans appear to be clueless.

Truly a bankrupt cricket nation in every sense of the word and there is not much hope for the future because there is not much hope that we will mend our ways.

Our cricketing IQ is equivalent to that of a banana.

 

[jeetu]

Biggest miss i would say would be 87 WC. Both India's and Pakistan's teams were superior with home condition advantage.

 

[Snowflake]

Pakistan's World Cup performances overall have been quite solid. Given that we've never been the best side in the world for a consistent period of time, our performances in the WCs are quite on par, if not exceeding, expectations. Even in the most recent WC of 2019, where we went in with the typical chaotic atmosphere, we punched well above our weight.

While the criteria for disappointment is obviously subjective, and every fan wants their team to win the entire thing, I would not say Pakistan has been disappointing in the WCs. If we were consistently a top side, then yeah sure, I'd be disappointed.

 

[Varun]

Biggest miss i would say would be 87 WC. Both India's and Pakistan's teams were superior with home condition advantage.

Yeah how did we let Australia and England get the better of both of us in Asia lol.

Only bettered by what happened years later in 2007.

 

[Markhor]

The choking tag has been historically associated with South Africa but looking honestly at Pakistan's World Cup record before and after 1992, Pakistan have imploded on many occasions on the big stage.

1975: Pakistan had a number of County pros with experience of the one-day competitions in England so were one of the stronger overseas teams. In a virtual KO vs West Indies, they set 267 to chase and reduced WI to 203-9. Yet Deryck Murray and Andy Roberts took them home.

1979: Admittedly a tough runchase of 294 in the SF against the world champions, but Zaheer and Majid bat like a dream to take Pakistan to 176-1, yet we collapse to 250.

1987: Pakistan were arguably the favourites going into the tournament. Playing at home, Pakistan win five from six group matches but choke in the SF vs an unfancied Australia.

1996: Possessing arguably the most complete team they ever took to a WC with most of the playing squad in their primes, winning four from five group matches, again in home conditions, and this time defending champions - Pakistan contrive to lose to a weak India side in the QF. This's the one that got away.

1999: A slightly overrated side with many players past their primes, but a stellar bowling attack. Reach the final, and I think my post typing this out is longer than the Pakistan innings.

2007: Despite drawing the easiest group of all major nations, Pakistan contrive to lose to both West Indies and Ireland despite possessing big names although admittedly likes of Inzamam and Yousuf were nearing the end.

2011: Contrary to what most think, Pakistan didn't have a great ODI side with too many one dimensional batsmen like Shehzad, Younis, Misbah and Shafiq. Reaching the SF was probably right for that team, but losing the Mohali SF having dropped so many catches and chasing so poorly counts as another missed opportunity.

Pakistan were far from the best ODI side in 1983, 2003, 2015 and 2019 and did not deserve to win so cannot count that as choking. Reasons for that are varied - 1983 side missed Imran's bowling, 2003 team was well past their peak, 2015 team was appalling and 2019 was middling.

But to answer why we've not won the most recent World Cups - it's simple. The ODI game has evolved greatly from the 1990s formula of score 250 and back your bowlers to defend it. Now 300 is par and Pakistan don't have the batting firepower. Too many young batters lack game awareness or ability to assess conditions. Meanwhile reverse swing has been diminished because of two new balls rule. And our fielding remains well behind the top sides.

 

[Rana]

Should have won 99 and 2011

 

[hitthestump]

The choking tag has been historically associated with South Africa but looking honestly at Pakistan's World Cup record before and after 1992, Pakistan have imploded on many occasions on the big stage.

1975: Pakistan had a number of County pros with experience of the one-day competitions in England so were one of the stronger overseas teams. In a virtual KO vs West Indies, they set 267 to chase and reduced WI to 203-9. Yet Deryck Murray and Andy Roberts took them home.

1979: Admittedly a tough runchase of 294 in the SF against the world champions, but Zaheer and Majid bat like a dream to take Pakistan to 176-1, yet we collapse to 250.

1987: Pakistan were arguably the favourites going into the tournament. Playing at home, Pakistan win five from six group matches but choke in the SF vs an unfancied Australia.

1996: Possessing arguably the most complete team they ever took to a WC with most of the playing squad in their primes, winning four from five group matches, again in home conditions, and this time defending champions - Pakistan contrive to lose to a weak India side in the QF. This's the one that got away.

1999: A slightly overrated side with many players past their primes, but a stellar bowling attack. Reach the final, and I think my post typing this out is longer than the Pakistan innings.

2007: Despite drawing the easiest group of all major nations, Pakistan contrive to lose to both West Indies and Ireland despite possessing big names although admittedly likes of Inzamam and Yousuf were nearing the end.

2011: Contrary to what most think, Pakistan didn't have a great ODI side with too many one dimensional batsmen like Shehzad, Younis, Misbah and Shafiq. Reaching the SF was probably right for that team, but losing the Mohali SF having dropped so many catches and chasing so poorly counts as another missed opportunity.

Pakistan were far from the best ODI side in 1983, 2003, 2015 and 2019 and did not deserve to win so cannot count that as choking. Reasons for that are varied - 1983 side missed Imran's bowling, 2003 team was well past their peak, 2015 team was appalling and 2019 was middling.

But to answer why we've not won the most recent World Cups - it's simple. The ODI game has evolved greatly from the 1990s formula of score 250 and back your bowlers to defend it. Now 300 is par and Pakistan don't have the batting firepower. Too many young batters lack game awareness or ability to assess conditions. Meanwhile reverse swing has been diminished because of two new balls rule. And our fielding remains well behind the top sides.

Great post, thank you.

 

[Bewal Express]

We had one of our best teams ever in 99 but we froze in the final. The 2003 team was over the hill but should have done better than it did, the 2007 team was poor and most of the teams since have been pretty ropey.

 

[Mamoon]

Nothing about Pakistan cricket impresses me anymore.

Pakistani cricketers scream mediocrity. Our players lack talent, skill and mental application. They do not exhibit any game awareness and tactical approach.

The Pakistani teams never appears to be playing with any strategy and any system. The opposition sets plans for our average players and they run into the like a mouse into a mousetrap with cheese.

Our players don’t look like athletes and that is why historically, we have always been the worst fielding side ever.

In addition, our players don’t show any semblance of intelligence and high IQ. They are inarticulate and incoherent. I don’t even remember the last time a Pakistani player made a good sledge or said something witty or smart with respect to the opposition.

When we try to trash-talk, we come up with bongia like Sarfraz claiming that India are scared of playing Pakistan, Hassan talking about aiming to take all 10 wickets against India and Naseem talking about seeing fear in batsmen’s eyes, and all of it backfires in spectacular fashion.

Few months back, I saw Harsha Bhogle interview Ashwin and Babar. The insight and articulation that Ashwin showed was remarkable.

On the other hand, Babar was mumbling like a timid child and offered no insight. Harsha had to carry the entire conversation and spoon-feeding him the answer.

What is the insight that our players offer? They all follow the same script. They will first thank a million people and then state that seniors gave them confidence. That is the extent of their insight.

No teams takes Pakistan seriously anymore. Winning against Pakistan gives them no joy and losing against them gives them no pain. We have become outcasts and have no real presence in the cricket world anymore.

The mediocrity of Pakistan cricket can be summed up from the fact that Miandad was still playing ODI cricket the last time Pakistan avoided a Test match defeat in Australia. Nothing more needs to be said.

Pakistan cricket has become synonymous with mediocrity and the 1992 World Cup has played no small part.

It is ironic that the least talented cricket nation is the one that talks about talent the most.

 

[Nasty Naz]

Next year it will be 30 years since Pakistan won the World Cup at the MCG.

A team that had a bit of luck on the way, bounced back after early setbacks, were well-lead by an inspirational captain, had a great bowling talent in Wasim Akram, had a great combination of youth and experience and where some in the team peaked just at the right time.

There have been 7 World Cups since 1992, with Pakistan reaching the final in 1999 at Lord's against Australia. Overall their performances have been a disappointment in World Cup tournaments.

So, why hasn't a great cricketing nation like Pakistan managed to win the tournament for nearly 30 years?

Probably because they have been an inconsistent average team since then? Australia have been extremely dominant and won 4 out of last 7 world cups since. India has been better since. England since 2015 are the most dominant and explosive ODI team we have ever seen (batting wise). Even South Africa, who have been on Australia level for the past decades haven't been able to win. NZ are extremely good too and have made the last two finals without winning one.

Pakistan have simply been left in the dust because of their old school mentality and approach. You also need a bit of lucky and needs things to click to win as well but for Pakistan, it's hard for things to click when you are selecting bonafide ODI scrubs like Younus on your World Cup teams every time. Frankly speaking, there's also just not enough talent and that's why they have fallen behind in the last few decades.

Having a home world cup would be a significant boost to their chances though.

 

[Zaz]

Pakistan since the 90s have been left behind with the game constantly evolving and pakistan failing to keep pace n always chasing other teams

Pakistan still doesnt do the basics right It doesnt field better than the other teams, the batters do not prioritise keeping the dot ball percentages low, the tail has always historically weak and until recently they have never played their best 2-3 odi batters in the top 3 positions

Until pakistan doesnt do the basics right It ll never win the world cup again

 

[Greenstorm]

This decade inshAllah, perhaps 2027. We will have a formidable team at the end of this decade.

 

[Hasan123]

Apart from 96 and 99, it's been a lack of quality players. All this choking is nonsense. We aren't good enough to win a WC. You have to be consistent, this doesn't suit us as we would rather be unpredictable and cornered tigers. The last 3 WC winners have been the favourites, that tells you what you need to win a WC. Quality and consistency.

 

[Rana]

Tbf, we have just been participants in 2015 and 2019. But it was fun beating the Winners and the runners up in must win games in 2019

 

[Kroll]

TBF, its not easy to win WC's unless you were the ATG Aus side of the late 90s and early 2000's. I think we should be grateful, we've won at least once.

However, we had great chances to win the next 2 WC's, 96 - something dodgy about that QF, re Wasim Akram, 99 - choked in the final.

After that, its been a pretty dismal showing except 2011.

 

[Markhor]

Apart from 96 and 99, it's been a lack of quality players. All this choking is nonsense. We aren't good enough to win a WC. You have to be consistent, this doesn't suit us as we would rather be unpredictable and cornered tigers. The last 3 WC winners have been the favourites, that tells you what you need to win a WC. Quality and consistency.

They had one of the strongest teams in 1987, they had more than enough quality but lost the plot in the SF under pressure against an Australian team that was still rebuilding under Allan Border.

Most predicted before the WC that it'd be a Pakistan-India final.

 

[Saj]

The 1999 final hurt.

That Pakistan team had a lot of quality and match-winners and to lose in that way and surrender so easily was heart-breaking.

They'd beaten the Aussies earlier in the tournament and I woke up that morning firmly believing that it would be Pakistan's day.

 

[Hasan123]

They had one of the strongest teams in 1987, they had more than enough quality but lost the plot in the SF under pressure against an Australian team that was still rebuilding under Allan Border.

Most predicted before the WC that it'd be a Pakistan-India final.

Yep the 87 team was good. But Saj is referring to after 92.

I can't remember the stats but our record in ODIs before the 92 WC was actually good. If we played how we normally did before the WC for the full WC instead of the business end, it would have not been seen as some unpredictable triumph. Another thing for [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] to bare in mind. We was actually a good ODI team before the 92 tournament. But because we were so hopeless for most of the 92 tournament it's seen as an unpredictable win.

 

[Markhor]

The 1999 final hurt.

That Pakistan team had a lot of quality and match-winners and to lose in that way and surrender so easily was heart-breaking.

They'd beaten the Aussies earlier in the tournament and I woke up that morning firmly believing that it would be Pakistan's day.

One of the guilty batsmen that day decided best preparation for the final was to spend until 3.50am at the Barracuda casino in London 36hrs before the match.

He is now our esteemed Under 19 Head Coach

 

[Hasan123]

[MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION],before the 92 WC, we won 5 tournaments in a row at Sharjah , we won 5 out of 7 bilateral ODI series at home, at the end of 89 we won a mini World Cup which featured every team barring NZ, we had won 55 out of 97 ODIs before the tournament. Only Australia had won more in that time frame.

These are impressive numbers. [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] if we played how we did before the 92 WC at the tournament, we maybe would have been known as that professional side you hope for. It wasn't just not winning the 87 tournament which messed that up. Not keeping up our pre tournament until the semis and final messed up the mentality.

 

[Bewal Express]

We were one of the favourites to win the WC in 92 so 92 was in line with expectations after a faltering start. In 96, we couldn't get the balance right as we were either short of a bowler or a batsman because we lacked an AR. The fact that JM forced his way into the team didn't help as he could barely stand,never mind bat.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Because they were not actually good enough?

1996 - Pakistan were in the weaker group and still were
2nd best to SA and had a close game against a
terrible England side. Group A was a lot tougher
and theres no guarantee Pakistan could have
beaten any of WI/SL/AUS at any stage
1999 - Going into that World Cup, Pakistan had smashed
India(sans Tendulkar) senseless in the previous 8
months or so. Results against other teams were
much less impressive . A fairly strong bowling
attack but a batting lineup that wasnt the best
suited for English conditions.

2003 - Infighting, terrible captaincy, over the hill players,
players looking only at individual milestones - a
shambles of a team.

2007 - A team in decline with an over the hill captain and
with premier bowlers Akhtar and Asif not selected
due to fears of them doping. Worst Pakistan side I've
seen in terms of quality. Rao, azhar and gull were
bowlers. Enough said.

2011 - Asad shafiq, Shehzad, YK, Misbah, Kami- terrible ODI
batting lineup. Bowling was relatively better
especially for SC conditions. SF was their absolute
ceiling and they reached there. Cant expect more.

2015 - Weakest beating lineup ever for Pakistan . Reaching
the QF with the likes of Shehzad, Jamshed, Misbah,
YK, Maqsood, Afridi, Sarfraz in 2015 exceeded
expectations.

2019 - Decent team with both bat and ball as far as
Pakistan teams go but other teams were just ahead
in terms of skills execution, preparation Eric.

 

[rhony]

99 was a good chance. Batting first on a swinging pitch was probably one of the worst decisions I've seen. 2003 was an over the hill team. 2007 was weird. 2011 was a choke job. 2015, 2019 were just bad teams.

To win a world cup, you need a solid top 5 or 6 that can score hundreds. Precisely why India hasn't won the WC after 2011 either. You need a Yuvraj or Maxwell or Butler at No.5 or 6. Pak's bowling attack was always decent but the batting has been poor for more than a decade.

 

[Suleiman]

The choking tag has been historically associated with South Africa but looking honestly at Pakistan's World Cup record before and after 1992, Pakistan have imploded on many occasions on the big stage.

1975: Pakistan had a number of County pros with experience of the one-day competitions in England so were one of the stronger overseas teams. In a virtual KO vs West Indies, they set 267 to chase and reduced WI to 203-9. Yet Deryck Murray and Andy Roberts took them home.

1979: Admittedly a tough runchase of 294 in the SF against the world champions, but Zaheer and Majid bat like a dream to take Pakistan to 176-1, yet we collapse to 250.

1987: Pakistan were arguably the favourites going into the tournament. Playing at home, Pakistan win five from six group matches but choke in the SF vs an unfancied Australia.

1996: Possessing arguably the most complete team they ever took to a WC with most of the playing squad in their primes, winning four from five group matches, again in home conditions, and this time defending champions - Pakistan contrive to lose to a weak India side in the QF. This's the one that got away.

1999: A slightly overrated side with many players past their primes, but a stellar bowling attack. Reach the final, and I think my post typing this out is longer than the Pakistan innings.

2007: Despite drawing the easiest group of all major nations, Pakistan contrive to lose to both West Indies and Ireland despite possessing big names although admittedly likes of Inzamam and Yousuf were nearing the end.

2011: Contrary to what most think, Pakistan didn't have a great ODI side with too many one dimensional batsmen like Shehzad, Younis, Misbah and Shafiq. Reaching the SF was probably right for that team, but losing the Mohali SF having dropped so many catches and chasing so poorly counts as another missed opportunity.

Pakistan were far from the best ODI side in 1983, 2003, 2015 and 2019 and did not deserve to win so cannot count that as choking. Reasons for that are varied - 1983 side missed Imran's bowling, 2003 team was well past their peak, 2015 team was appalling and 2019 was middling.

But to answer why we've not won the most recent World Cups - it's simple. The ODI game has evolved greatly from the 1990s formula of score 250 and back your bowlers to defend it. Now 300 is par and Pakistan don't have the batting firepower. Too many young batters lack game awareness or ability to assess conditions. Meanwhile reverse swing has been diminished because of two new balls rule. And our fielding remains well behind the top sides.

Agree with everything here. 1999 and 2011 were massively overrated sides with bowling but zero batting strength. Umar Akmal and Asad Shafiq set the tone of the rest of their careers with that tournament by not performing when it actually mattered at the semis.

 

[leonidas_alexandar]

It's a travesty that India and Pakistan have won only 3 world cups between them. We should have won atleast 5 by now (3 India 2 Pak) , considering that we have 80% of the total cricketing market.

Pakistan should have won atleast one of '96, '99 and 2011 editions... Same with India for '87, '03 and 2019.

In 2003 India was not a favorite to win. India was a distant second behind a red hot Australia. The two times India played them - first in the league phase and in the finals - India got slaughtered.

In 2019 England were the favorites and they did win it. In 2011 India were the favorites and they lived up to the favorites tag. If anything I would bet India will begin as the favorites in 2023 World Cup.

 

[street cricketer]

That's because different sides play different brands of cricket. England play the latest version where their top 6 all go crash bang and try to make as much as possible. Sure, at times such a high octane approach would mean they would lose matches like the last one, but their philosophy is simple - score whatever you want, we will score more than you, and end up doing it comfortably. On their day, they could make 400 or even more.

India and Australia play a slightly outdated version of the late 2000s and early 2010s ODI cricket where their top order lays a solid platform for the lower order to launch big towards the end to make something around 300-330. It's a more steadier approach than England's but a bit outdated too.

Pakistan play the late 90s and early 2000s approach of making a solid score in the range of 270-280 or even 300 on a good day and letting their bowlers do the job of defending the score. It's an outdated approach and they have not caught up with the times. To be fair to them, if everyone could play like Buttler or Roy or Bairstow or Morgan, everyone would. But it's clearly not easy.

 

[viveks]

Mostly because there's 6/7 other teams that could win and there's some level of luck that's involved as well. But also because Pakistan have produced poor batting sides in ODIs in the last decade or so, which also coincided with ODIs moving towards flat pitches(which tilted the favor to batting sides)

 

[Ab Fan]

They choked in 80s and 90s in ODIs except in 1992. Post 2003, they have been mediocre and their best bat, Younis is not a good ODI player.

With addition of Babar and Shaheen, Pakistan are a good ODI side now.

 

[Thanos]

Misbah's inning in 2011 SF was one of the most strange inning I've ever seen in cricket. The guy was literally middling the ball and still guiding to fielders. He was converting singles/doubles to dots all the time.

As an Indian we were worried remembering his 2007 T20 WC heroics. But he literally killed all chances of Pak win by not taking singles/doubles and then played few fancy shots in last but RRR was already out of reach.

 

[Sunzi]

1996 Was the one that got away.

1999 When we got to the final, we should have made a better fist of it.

2011 Semis - real chance to get to the final again. Remember us giving Tendulkar about 4 lives aswell...

Lack of professionalism and I hate to say it but one always wonders whether there's always something more sinister going on behind the scenes with Pakistan - can't ever say with certainty whether a loss is always a legitimate loss, especially 90s times.

 

[Shafi]

Lack of skilled, matured and brave batsman as well as aggressive bowlers. Both our batsmen and bowlers choke under pressure. Don't think winning any World Cup in next 20 years at least.

 

[Shafi]

Appointment of Misbah will put us more backward as he has already installed tuk tuk and play safe policy. Top 4 Ind/Eng/NZ/Aus play fearless but give 200% where our players hearts trembling when chasing big scores and play safe to loose with honor.

 

[RajBan]

Pakistani team of 80 & 90s were really good. Well educated bunch of cricketers with lot of glam and xfactor backed by performance. They had a very cosmopolitan outlook back then. I think Pakistan cricket lost the plot in mid 2000s by going overtly religious . Playing away from home did not help either

 

[Major]

2015 world cup was unfair for Pakistan as ICC decided to be more strict on off spinners. Pakistan had to throw out Ajmal and Hafeez and make a team without them. Harris Sohail was acting as a 5th bowler.

If off spinner rules were going to be made strict than ICC should had done that rigth affter 2011 world cup or 2015 world cup.

Than our batting was terrible aswell back than.

Cricket is an atheletic sport, and I doubt Pakistan could pull of a world cup win. Our players are not atheletes, and with the likes of Sharjeel and Azam Khan getting selected, i doubt we would ever win one.


South Africa has got a better chance than us.

 

[Major]

The world cup that gets overlooked the most is the 2007 one, and for that Bob Woolmer was at fault. His selection of players were ridiculous. The whole team was made up of bits and pieces. Just because we were winning some series, we allowed that to get over our heads.

Woolmer gets a alot praise and what not after his death, but during the world cup Pakistani people were not happy with him and wanted him to be sacked.

Yousuf, Younis and Inzamam were known for not performing in ICC tournaments and before we entered the 2007 World Cup, everyone knew Pakistan were gonna bottle it.

2011 we did better because of our spinners. Conditions suited us. We had Abdul Rehman, Ajmal, Hafeez and Afridi. Plus, Misbah and Younis had developed a tactic where they would bat slow and attack in the last 10-15 overs. This tactic was developed during the New Zealand series before the world cup. The commentators were praising Misbah for the he batted.

We could had won the semi final if Umar Akmal or Afridi had atleast done some power hitting. It was a winnable game, and Sri Lanka would had been a walkover for us in the finals as our pacers were doing good.

 

[burger_uno]

winning world cup is not easy which is why sides like s.a, nz and until recently, england have not had much success.

as far as pakistan is concerned, team has not met expectations for the longest time. at minimum, pak team should be reaching semi-finals. otherwise campaign should be regarded as failure and lessons must be learnt so that mistakes are not repeated.

one way to maximise chances is to select best eleven. seems obvious but apparently not so to members of pakistani cricketing fraternity. more often than not, failure has resulted from lack of performance from pakistani batsmen. yet players who have repeatedly failed on big occasion find themselves as a part wc teams due to incompetency of selectors and due to dirty lobbying games played by "superstars" who should be held accountable but are not.

pakistan had a very good run from 87-99. one reason was relative dependability of pakistani top and m/o whose lynchpin were likes of JM, IK, Saeed Anwer (SA) and Inzi whose w.c. performance however tailed off. to keep on succeeding in w.c, pak needed batsmen who could replicate the performance of illustrious and clutch players like JM who played 33 matches with b.a. of 43 or SA who played 21 matches with b.a. of 53 while scoring 3x100 and 3x50. yet what we saw was the following:

YK: WC 21 matches, b.a. 21, 2x50 (sl, kenya) CT: 8 matches, b.a. 14, 0x50
Shoaib Malik (SM):WC 6 matches, b.a. 17, 1x50 CT: 20 matches, b.a 24, 1x100, 1x50

now some may claim that there was no one better but they will be wrong. there was someone much better. he did not get a look-in despite putting very good numbers domestically. that player was misbah whose career would have been a historical footnote were it not for the betting scandal.

these are the numbers misbah put up with despite playing outside his prime:

WC: 15 matches, b.a. 50, 7x50. CT: 7 matches b.a. 53 2x50

if misbah does a holding job against ire in 2007 as was his speciality, pak likely lives to fight another day. misbah is also blamed for failure of 2011. but simple fact is if KA does not give multiple chances to RT, pak ends up avoiding india at Mohali. moreover, given's akmal's previous shenanigans, no self-respecting cricketing nation would have selected him in 2011 w.c. squad where he took the place of sarfaraz who was a better cricketer by any measure.

what has made things worse is players have blackmailed and bullied spineless administrators. we have seen this with our own eyes. YK, in his mid-30s, became a part of 2015 w.c. squad in australia where, even in his prime, he averaged in the teens. story is no different for SM and 2019 w.c. Misbah singlehandedly kept pak in ct2013 match against wi. malik does the same in 2019 and pak likely makes the semi-final. both YK and SM had poor record in the year leading to WC and yet they found themselves in places where they had never competed.

the fault therefore is clearly not in our stars.

 

[Babeikh]

If we go through it world cup by world cup:


1996 and 1999: We were an excellent team, easily in the top 3 teams in the world and genuine contenders. We should have won at least one of these world cups. The ridiculous choke against Australia in the 99 final in particular but basically it was 'one-off games' rather than an overall poor standard that saw us lose in these world cups. On another day we could and would have won both those games.

2003: Our 'greats' were well and truly over the hill and we were simply a poor team. Not good enough. Too much ego, not enough flair and too many players out of form. Just not good enough simple as that.

2007: Disastrous world cup. Hard to pin down what exactly happened as we were actually a decent ODI side not long before the world cup. We beat India in India 4 times in a row, gave England a good run for their money in England - I believe we were ranked 3rd in the world in ODIs around 2005/6. Losing Asif and Akhtar for being a pair of clowns was always going to be a blow and Razzaq too was injured. Then on top of that I think the Inzi period had just gone a bit too far. I think there were things going on in the team set up that wasn't creating a harmonious environment. Even if we had got through the group stage, we would have unlikely got beyond the Super 6s or Super 8s whatever it was.

2011: Our last genuine chance but I think we probably played a little above our ability. It was actually a good world cup for that team to reach the SF. Losing to India was heart-breaking but the team performed as well as we could have demanded.

2015: Was a rubbish team. Just not good enough.

2019: Unlucky to miss out on SF on NRR. Inconsistent but had some really good performances - beating both the finalists England and New Zealand. I think though, similar to 2011, the team probably performed as well as it could have done given its ability, finishing 5th out of 10.

So essentially looking back its the 1996 and 1999 tournaments that we should really be disappointed about because those were genuinely world champion standard teams.

I think actually, it is India who should be questioning how and why they have only won one world cup since their first victory in 1883. For a country that is literally the greatest cricketing nation in this world and beyond to parallel universes, has the best cricket board, the best cricket media, the best cricket fans, the most exciting incredible wonderful magnificent cricketers, the best pitches, the best first class structure, the best franchise league, the best money, the best tattoos etc - for them to only win one world cup - and that at home - is quite pathetic.

 

[Robert]

Same reason as why England have only won it once. They keep running into better teams, or teams that aren’t necessarily better but more motivated or just more lucky on the day.

 

[Varun]

Same reason as why England have only won it once. They keep running into better teams, or teams that aren’t necessarily better but more motivated or just more lucky on the day.

To be real, they have won it half a time.

 

[Hitman]

If I were a Pak fan, I would have been most disappointed at not winning the 96' WC.

 

[Robert]

To be real, they have won it half a time.

To be realer, look whose name is on the trophy.

 

[Shafi]

2015 world cup was unfair for Pakistan as ICC decided to be more strict on off spinners. Pakistan had to throw out Ajmal and Hafeez and make a team without them. Harris Sohail was acting as a 5th bowler.

If off spinner rules were going to be made strict than ICC should had done that rigth affter 2011 world cup or 2015 world cup.

Than our batting was terrible aswell back than.

Cricket is an atheletic sport, and I doubt Pakistan could pull of a world cup win. Our players are not atheletes, and with the likes of Sharjeel and Azam Khan getting selected, i doubt we would ever win one.


South Africa has got a better chance than us.

But we have better chance in 1996, 1999 and even 2011 than 2015. Why don't you accept the truth? Pakistan cricket is not about Misbah only. He was part of it but not all of it.

 

[Shafi]

If I were a Pak fan, I would have been most disappointed at not winning the 96' WC.

1999 team was the best.

 

[Hitman]

1999 team was the best.

I'd say that 99' team was not better, but maybe on par with the 96' team. But the difference is that the 99' team lost to Australia in the finals while the 96' team lost to a relatively weak India in the quarter final.

 

[Shafi]

I'd say that 99' team was not better, but maybe on par with the 96' team. But the difference is that the 99' team lost to Australia in the finals while the 96' team lost to a relatively weak India in the quarter final.

India always win against us in World Cup means we are destined loose them because our players are mentally fragile. Even Bangladesh play more fearlessly and has better opportunity to win against India than us. With other teams we are capable of winning. That's why I said 1999 we had better chance.

 

[Hitman]

India always win against us in World Cup means we are destined loose them because our players are mentally fragile. Even Bangladesh play more fearlessly and has better opportunity to win against India than us. With other teams we are capable of winning. That's why I said 1999 we had better chance.

That is true now, but wasn't true then. Before the 96' WC, Pak had lost to India just once in WC matches, and that was in the 92' WC. Pak was a much better team than us on paper in the 96' WC. It still surprises me how they managed to lose to us in that WC, specially after the flying start that Anwar and Sohail gave your team.

I'm not ashamed or embarrassed at admitting the truth. And that is I, as a fan, was genuinely scared of the Pak team in the 90's.

 

[Shafi]

That is true now, but wasn't true then. Before the 96' WC, Pak had lost to India just once in WC matches, and that was in the 92' WC. Pak was a much better team than us on paper in the 96' WC. It still surprises me how they managed to lose to us in that WC, specially after the flying start that Anwar and Sohail gave your team.

I'm not ashamed or embarrassed at admitting the truth. And that is I, as a fan, was genuinely scared of the Pak team in the 90's.

Aamer Sohail was the main culprit. He was too sure of himself after spat with Prasad. Prasad was cool headed and won the battle.

 

[Hitman]

Aamer Sohail was the main culprit. He was too sure of himself after spat with Prasad. Prasad was cool headed and won the battle.

Aamer Sohail definitely made a fool of himself, but the blame should go towards the rest of the batsmen. They couldn't chase the target despite the brilliant start provided by the openers.

 

[Cric1234]

We haven’t turned up on a few occasions when it mattered most in a semi or a final as simple as that.

Our best batsmen Inzi Younis Yousuf have failed consistently in WCs Malik and Hafeez have done little of note aswell.

There’s less hope for the future with Misbah in charge who’s made us into minnows in ODIs with the slow timid batsmen selected in the top order and unless he’s removed and someone with a more refreshing attacking style is put in charge we won’t be winning another WC soon.

 

[Saj]

Some of the selections for World Cups have been a bit strange.

Too often Pakistan has gone for a safety-first selection policy, picking players who are clearly past their best, instead of investing in youth.

Most of the time the former greats have flopped at the World Cups.

 

[dravidthewall]

Nothing about Pakistan cricket impresses me anymore.

Pakistani cricketers scream mediocrity. Our players lack talent, skill and mental application. They do not exhibit any game awareness and tactical approach.

The Pakistani teams never appears to be playing with any strategy and any system. The opposition sets plans for our average players and they run into the like a mouse into a mousetrap with cheese.

Our players don’t look like athletes and that is why historically, we have always been the worst fielding side ever.

In addition, our players don’t show any semblance of intelligence and high IQ. They are inarticulate and incoherent. I don’t even remember the last time a Pakistani player made a good sledge or said something witty or smart with respect to the opposition.

When we try to trash-talk, we come up with bongia like Sarfraz claiming that India are scared of playing Pakistan, Hassan talking about aiming to take all 10 wickets against India and Naseem talking about seeing fear in batsmen’s eyes, and all of it backfires in spectacular fashion.

Few months back, I saw Harsha Bhogle interview Ashwin and Babar. The insight and articulation that Ashwin showed was remarkable.

On the other hand, Babar was mumbling like a timid child and offered no insight. Harsha had to carry the entire conversation and spoon-feeding him the answer.

What is the insight that our players offer? They all follow the same script. They will first thank a million people and then state that seniors gave them confidence. That is the extent of their insight.

No teams takes Pakistan seriously anymore. Winning against Pakistan gives them no joy and losing against them gives them no pain. We have become outcasts and have no real presence in the cricket world anymore.

The mediocrity of Pakistan cricket can be summed up from the fact that Miandad was still playing ODI cricket the last time Pakistan avoided a Test match defeat in Australia. Nothing more needs to be said.

Pakistan cricket has become synonymous with mediocrity and the 1992 World Cup has played no small part.

It is ironic that the least talented cricket nation is the one that talks about talent the most.

There may be a reason Pakistan was not playing at home...

 

[Snowflake]

Same reason as why England have only won it once. They keep running into better teams, or teams that aren’t necessarily better but more motivated or just more lucky on the day.

Not really. England has never really been a destructive ODI side, unlike Pak of 87, 96 and 99, until very recently. They've mostly come into WCs as dark horses at best.

 

[ahmedzee]

We got close in 1999 if it wasn't for complacency.
In 2003, we had an aging squad, but worse than that was a super defensive captain who should never have been appointed as captain.
in 2007, we had a weak team, with safety first approach selection done.
in 2011, our team was not strong enough to beat the best, and also we were too defensive in patches.
in 2015, we were too defensive thanks to Misbah, and we always went with safety selections first, no risk taking at all. I was actually surprised we even went on to play the quarters.
in 2019, that first match made us lose the cup, but I still believe we played well and could've beaten whoever the opponent was in the semis, as we had 7 match winning streak going on.

Aggressive and risk taking captain is needed eventually to win the world cup. Without it, we won't.

 

[Saj]

Aamer Sohail definitely made a fool of himself, but the blame should go towards the rest of the batsmen. They couldn't chase the target despite the brilliant start provided by the openers.

When Aamir was out, Pakistan were 113/2 from 15 overs.

They needed another 175 from 35 overs with 8 wickets in hand.

Spot on - it was the middle order that messed up that day. Ijaz, Inzi, Malik, Miandad, Rashid should have seen the team home.

 

[NishanKonar]

The 1999 final hurt.

That Pakistan team had a lot of quality and match-winners and to lose in that way and surrender so easily was heart-breaking.

They'd beaten the Aussies earlier in the tournament and I woke up that morning firmly believing that it would be Pakistan's day.

To be fair - Australia came into the final in red hot form & Pakistan lost steam after group stages & lost 3/5 games coming into the final

So Australia were firm favorites ( although nobody expected such tame final )

 

[ask_analyse_act]

When Aamir was out, Pakistan were 113/2 from 15 overs.

They needed another 175 from 35 overs with 8 wickets in hand.

Spot on - it was the middle order that messed up that day. Ijaz, Inzi, Malik, Miandad, Rashid should have seen the team home.

It was the middle order and I remember how Miandad ate all the deliveries trying to steady the ship.

Malik and Miandad should have easily seen the team home.


Similarly Misbah and Younis should have seen the team home in Mohali

Misbah played the Miandads 96 role

 

[Saj]

To be fair - Australia came into the final in red hot form & Pakistan lost steam after group stages & lost 3/5 games coming into the final

So Australia were firm favorites ( although nobody expected such tame final )

Australia were in form, but that Pakistan side had some exceptional cricketers and many thought that they would turn on the style in the final, as they had earlier in the tournament against the same opposition.

 

[NishanKonar]

When Aamir was out, Pakistan were 113/2 from 15 overs.

They needed another 175 from 35 overs with 8 wickets in hand.

Spot on - it was the middle order that messed up that day. Ijaz, Inzi, Malik, Miandad, Rashid should have seen the team home.

1 big reason was Pakistani middle order was packed with right handers - which was ideal for Prasad & Kumble , who were struggling against the left handers

But against right handers they wer getting away going deliveries - which Inzy , Malik, Mandad struggled to handle

 

[ishtiaq_ctg]

Australia were in form, but that Pakistan side had some exceptional cricketers and many thought that they would turn on the style in the final, as they had earlier in the tournament against the same opposition.

You cant expect to win against Mcgrath & Warne in a final in england with a batting lineup that has Wasti,Razzak, Moin & Afridi in the top 7.

 

[ishtiaq_ctg]

1 big reason was Pakistani middle order was packed with right handers - which was ideal for Prasad & Kumble , who were struggling against the left handers

But against right handers they wer getting away going deliveries - which Inzy , Malik, Mandad struggled to handle

90's Pakistan were absolute pathetic in chasing any total over 250. They successfully chased a 300+ score by 2005, 9 years after the 96 worldcup. No way they were going to chase 280+ in the nineties.

 

[Saj]

You cant expect to win against Mcgrath & Warne in a final in england with a batting lineup that has Wasti,Razzak, Moin & Afridi in the top 7.

Pakistan beat them a few weeks earlier, albeit that wasn't a final.

They were a strong side, but not invincible.

 

[Thomaskutty]

1996 and 99 teams were peak Pakistan, should have won those two tournaments really. My guess is backroom dodgy dealings derailed those WCs, impossible that they were clean.

 

[MenInG]

Kamran Akmal in an interview may have the answer...

“Pakistan doesn’t have the team it used to have eight to ten years ago. We used to have five to six match-winners back in the day"

 

[CricketingMinds]

Kamran Akmal in an interview may have the answer...

“Pakistan doesn’t have the team it used to have eight to ten years ago. We used to have five to six match-winners back in the day"

5-6 Match Winners with no team spirit.

Now, we have 2-3 match winners with a united team spirit

Both approaches are fine as long as the team is winning. And right now the team is doing fine and a lot better than a few years ago.

Rome wasn't built in a day, so I'd take the gradual progress the team is making.

 

[anonymous_guy]

Kamran Akmal in an interview may have the answer...

“Pakistan doesn’t have the team it used to have eight to ten years ago. We used to have five to six match-winners back in the day"

8 to 10 years ago Pakistan couldn't even win a single match in champions trophy, lost a test match to Zimbabwe, most of the time odi team score card would read like 50-2 or 80-3.

They did win in India and South Africa but it was too few and far in between.

These Akmals, Shehzad and Hafeez think too highly of themselves. All four have them have absolutely mediocre numbers yet these guys played for pakistan for so long because they came at a time when talent had dried up and Pakistan cricket were going through a drought.

Misbah was getting all the blame for the poor performance of Pakistan in ODIs yet these 4 mediocre players were continuously a part of the team and we're putting up a failed show one after the other.

Harsha Bhogle once tweeted that Misbah was like that single person in the family who earns yet he is the one who gets criticised for not earning enough.

 

[JaDed]

Pakistan is a much better tram right now. These Akmals were a curse.

 

[Zaz]

Id like akaml to expalin which match winners were playing 8-10 years ago? What matches\ series did they win and what were their career avges?

Hes talking nonsense Pakistan had noone like babar imam, shaheen etc in their lineup several years ago who actually performed day in day out and i dont mean once in blue moon but consistently

 

[Nasty Naz]

Kamran Akmal in an interview may have the answer...

“Pakistan doesn’t have the team it used to have eight to ten years ago. We used to have five to six match-winners back in the day"

But those teams hardly did any winning. Just extremely mediocre batting carried heavily by its spinners.

This poor fellow lacks brain cells.

 

[Markhor]

I hope Kamran isn't classing himself as one of those matchwinners.

He was one of our biggest "matchlosers" - Sydney Test being the most infamous example.

 

[Rana]

5-6 Match Winners with no team spirit.

Now, we have 2-3 match winners with a united team spirit

Both approaches are fine as long as the team is winning. And right now the team is doing fine and a lot better than a few years ago.

Rome wasn't built in a day, so I'd take the gradual progress the team is making.

Stop trying to portray this team as something that it is not.

 

[Rana]

Kamran Akmal in an interview may have the answer...

“Pakistan doesn’t have the team it used to have eight to ten years ago. We used to have five to six match-winners back in the day"

From 2003-2016, the following players were most certainly match winners (in Test and ODI)

1. Shoaib Akhtar
2. Abdul Razzaq
3. Shahid Afridi
4. Inzimam ul Haq
5. Kamran Akmal
6. Mohammad Yousuf
7. Younis Khan
8. Mohammad Asif
9. Mohammad Amir
10. Mohammad Hafeez
11. Wahab Riaz
12. Saeed Ajmal
13. Umar Gul
14. Shoaib Malik
15. Junaid Khan
16. Yasir Shah
17. Abdul Rehman

All great cricketers in some capacity

 

[sweep_shot]

They should've won 1999 final. Opportunity missed.

Pakistan's ODI team was always in transition after the retirements of Anwar, Wasim, Waqar etc.

They are starting to rise again due to Babar, Fakhar, Imam, and Shaheen.

 

[TheSultan]

Ultimately Pakistan threw away (excuse the pun) the 96 and 99 world cups. These were the only two world cups they had a very high chance of winning with matchwinners in both bowling and batting.

2003 they were an ageing team that had could be world beaters for a few games. They didn’t even manage that due to all the instability and infighting in the lead up to the tournament.

2007 was one of the worst performances. They didn’t even turn up.

2011 was a bit of a mirage. They appeared to do well in reaching the semi finals but it was obvious they didn’t quite have the quality to win the World Cup. Even if they won the semi, I think SL would have probably beaten them. But you never know. Was quite a poor standard of World Cup that tournament.

2015 - poor, very poor odi team. Misbah captain, nuff said

2019 - personally they were a bit unlucky. Their slow start handicapped them but towards the end they were playing some really good cricket.

 

[Rana]

Ultimately Pakistan threw away (excuse the pun) the 96 and 99 world cups. These were the only two world cups they had a very high chance of winning with matchwinners in both bowling and batting.

2003 they were an ageing team that had could be world beaters for a few games. They didn’t even manage that due to all the instability and infighting in the lead up to the tournament.

2007 was one of the worst performances. They didn’t even turn up.

2011 was a bit of a mirage. They appeared to do well in reaching the semi finals but it was obvious they didn’t quite have the quality to win the World Cup. Even if they won the semi, I think SL would have probably beaten them. But you never know. Was quite a poor standard of World Cup that tournament.

2015 - poor, very poor odi team. Misbah captain, nuff said

2019 - personally they were a bit unlucky. Their slow start handicapped them but towards the end they were playing some really good cricket.

Pakistan comfortably beat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka during the 2011 World Cup and they would have rolled them over in the final too

 

[Nasty Naz]

Pakistan haven't won because they haven't been good in ODI's since the 90's. Other teams have been better and in some cases, much better (ie. SA/NZ) and still haven't won because you also need a little bit of luck to go your way.

They have been left behind in the dust with other teams due to poor domestic structure, coaching & development of players. It could be due to development of players but Pakistan also simply haven't had enough talented players come up the past couple of decades. It was mediocrity like Shehzad/Akmal/Jamshed or brainless bowlers like Sami/Rahat etc. You can just look at how awful they have been in bi-lateral series against top teams the past couple of decades and its easy to see why they haven't won any WC's. They haven't been good enough nor deserving of it.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Pakistan haven’t won much since 1992 to be honest. Even with team of utter talent at their disposal. Some random peaks where they would win a tournament or a C series but plenty of plateaus and many a trough.

So no surprise.