No cricket for four months - bad luck or poor planning?

[Saj]

At a time when the Pakistan team is buoyant and confidence is sky-high, we find ourselves in a situation where there is no international cricket for 4 months.

Who is at fault for this?

Do you think it's bad luck?

Is it poor planning and a lack of a Plan B?

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Poor planning.We shouldn't have cancelled the Bangla tour.

 

[MoAamer]

NO.. it increases the value of cricket to the viewer.. let them cricketers have a rest time

 

[shaz619]

Blessing in disguise, the boyz played well and the boyz need a well deserved rest Also, they are always on the road and we never account for psychological fatigue beyond the physical wear and tear.

 

[ExplicitAI]

Ahh mate, I kinda regret us cancelling the BD tour, we could've whitewashed them easily and boosted our players stats to please us fans. Petty politics needs to stay away from cricket; the 2017 CT win however has increased the chances of international cricket coming back to Pak.

 

[Hasan123]

Poor planning. The Bangladesh tour shouldn't have been cancelled. But having a rest isn't the worst thing in the world.

 

[TahirFan]

Why can't Pakistan arrange a tour with Zimbabwe during thos 4 months.

It will give the youngsters in the side international experience .

 

[Ami]

Let them take a break...but as someone mentioned earlier, organise a tour with second eleven against Zim or dare I say, even Bangladesh...(cue daggers!)

 

[MoAamer]

We're tired of touring. Why can't we have a series in Karachi (Sarfraz bhai and co home) or Lahore (70% of our players home).. enough is enough. When will be the day in the smog of these two cities will there be a significant cricket match.

 

[zoeyfactor]

4 months is a long time for a break. They need to squeeze in at least one limited overs series to be in the winning momentum.

 

[coy0607]

Let them take a break...but as someone mentioned earlier, organise a tour with second eleven against Zim or dare I say, even Bangladesh...(cue daggers!)

4 months isn't a break, it's a hiatus

Plus a few guys are playing county or other cricket anyway, so they're not really even taking a break

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

4 months is way too long a break and PCB has only itself to blame

There are two ways to rectify it based on the current FTP

1. Tour Zimbabwe - they are free in August, PCB wont host them in UAE so we will have tour them provided they have the finances to run it


2. Host New Zealand - NZ have a longer break than us, they aren't playing again till the end of November, true they are hosting us for a full tour early next year, but we can still host a limited overs series with them in the UAE. Both sides need some cricket, and it will be competitive


For those that want to see the FTP
http://images.supersport.com/content/FTP-2015-to-2019-as-at-Nov-2014.pdf

 

[MMHS]

Poor planning. The Bangladesh tour shouldn't have been cancelled. But having a rest isn't the worst thing in the world.

You'll see the negative impact of 4 months break without County/FC cricket after all those Ramadan cup & corporate league. The game is built on momentum, which Arthur gradually built with constant practice & match application in last 12 months - now after 4 months, he'll have to start from scratch; starting form a team that'll be comfortably 2/3 KG heavier in average weight.

More matches never hurts the preparation, if work load is distributed properly. Also, the iron was red hot now to give "rest" to MoHa, Malik, Wahab for a series or 2 & bring 3/4 younger faces. What PCB selectors have done previously is technically picked youngsters & then they were played to fail - like playing at wrong spot, playing in wrong format/wicket, so that they can be dropped easily. On top of that, unlike IND, PAK mostly plays 3 match series, which hardly allows any flexibility to rotate squad.

You can't select seniors & then expect them to carry drinks & youngsters making the playing XI - to avoid such situations, what every team apart from PAK does is in such bilateral series, they "rest" few seniors, who are automatic starters. Like IND had dropped Bumrah & Rohit; AUS/SAF/ENG regularly drops their key players. What PCB selectors do is they pick apparent best XV with few youngsters & then make them carry drinks. This time luck favoured for JK/Raees that Wahab twisted ankle & luck for Fakhar that India hammered n 4th June - otherwise, his career could have ended with a debut at no. 6 in the sea rubber against SRL.


Ideally, PCB should have played 6/7 ODI with BD & send at least 5/6 new faces from CT squad in 16 member team - Farhan, Amin, Aga Salman, Mir, Yamin & a new fast bowler; dropping Azhar, MoHa, Malik, Amir, Imad, Ahmed & Wahab from the CT squad - if it even ends 0-6, so it be (though I think, barring Amir, change in other 5 will make the team better). That 5-0 drubbing against SAF didnt stop Aussies to rest Smith, Warner, Strac against Kiwis. And I am sure, had that series been there, BCB also would have played 3/4 new faces.

 

[moghul]

A well deserved break, a blessing in disguise . Break is not easy to find now a days. BD tour would have not been very exciting.

 

[Talented]

Learn it Indian way. Arrange a meaningless bilateral series against WI or Zimbabwe.

 

[msb314]

At a time when the Pakistan team is buoyant and confidence is sky-high, we find ourselves in a situation where there is no international cricket for 4 months.

Who is at fault for this?

Do you think it's bad luck?

Is it poor planning and a lack of a Plan B?

Completely poor planning.

We could have arranged a short series with Zimbabwe or SL in the mean time - would have been easy to arrange and would ensure our cricketers and refresh and have game time behind them.

 

[msb314]

Ahh mate, I kinda regret us cancelling the BD tour, we could've whitewashed them easily and boosted our players stats to please us fans. Petty politics needs to stay away from cricket; the 2017 CT win however has increased the chances of international cricket coming back to Pak.

I doubt it. The same was said about the 2009 World T20 but we know nothing happened since.

Until the security situation improves from the current state of multiple attacks per day - it is difficult for international cricket to return to Pakistan.

 

[Savak]

Players are human, they deserve downtime after being on the road for so long

 

[ManFan]

With all due respect, your post is obviously biased due to the cancelling of the BD tour that was supposed to have taken place in the coming weeks.

 

[Savak]

No need to play Bangladesh. Our quality of cricket will only suffer playing against minnows. Our Champions Trophy victory will give the perfect answer to people like MMHS who kept making fun of Pakistan Cricket that we will reach Zimbabwe, Kenya level by 2023 and looking to play qualifiers for future World Cups.

Averages always catch up and Bangladesh will reach minnow level back again where they eternally belong.

 

[Shutdown Corner]

No need to play Bangladesh. Our quality of cricket will only suffer playing against minnows. Our Champions Trophy victory will give the perfect answer to people like MMHS who kept making fun of Pakistan Cricket that we will reach Zimbabwe, Kenya level by 2023 and looking to play qualifiers for future World Cups.

Averages always catch up and Bangladesh will reach minnow level back again where they eternally belong.

If we go back again to where we were, we'll be 2 spots higher than Pakistan!

 

[Bilal7]

This is a good time to catch a much needed break for the cricketers. Those that want to keep playing can do so in county cricket and a T20 league or two. A good situation at the end of the day.

This is a season end of sorts for Pakistan cricket and given that we are the Champions of the World at the end, makes it the perfect time for a few months off. Let the players and fans have an extended celebration.

 

[MoAamer]

If we go back again to where we were, we'll be 2 spots higher than Pakistan!

If you can defeat Pakistan

 

[sjsjsj]

At a time when the Pakistan team is buoyant and confidence is sky-high, we find ourselves in a situation where there is no international cricket for 4 months.

Who is at fault for this?

Do you think it's bad luck?

Is it poor planning and a lack of a Plan B?

None of the above. It is all about dough. Caribbean Premier League. They deserve it though.

 

[Hasan123]

You'll see the negative impact of 4 months break without County/FC cricket after all those Ramadan cup & corporate league. The game is built on momentum, which Arthur gradually built with constant practice & match application in last 12 months - now after 4 months, he'll have to start from scratch; starting form a team that'll be comfortably 2/3 KG heavier in average weight.

More matches never hurts the preparation, if work load is distributed properly. Also, the iron was red hot now to give "rest" to MoHa, Malik, Wahab for a series or 2 & bring 3/4 younger faces. What PCB selectors have done previously is technically picked youngsters & then they were played to fail - like playing at wrong spot, playing in wrong format/wicket, so that they can be dropped easily. On top of that, unlike IND, PAK mostly plays 3 match series, which hardly allows any flexibility to rotate squad.

You can't select seniors & then expect them to carry drinks & youngsters making the playing XI - to avoid such situations, what every team apart from PAK does is in such bilateral series, they "rest" few seniors, who are automatic starters. Like IND had dropped Bumrah & Rohit; AUS/SAF/ENG regularly drops their key players. What PCB selectors do is they pick apparent best XV with few youngsters & then make them carry drinks. This time luck favoured for JK/Raees that Wahab twisted ankle & luck for Fakhar that India hammered n 4th June - otherwise, his career could have ended with a debut at no. 6 in the sea rubber against SRL.


Ideally, PCB should have played 6/7 ODI with BD & send at least 5/6 new faces from CT squad in 16 member team - Farhan, Amin, Aga Salman, Mir, Yamin & a new fast bowler; dropping Azhar, MoHa, Malik, Amir, Imad, Ahmed & Wahab from the CT squad - if it even ends 0-6, so it be (though I think, barring Amir, change in other 5 will make the team better). That 5-0 drubbing against SAF didnt stop Aussies to rest Smith, Warner, Strac against Kiwis. And I am sure, had that series been there, BCB also would have played 3/4 new faces.

I can't remember which player but they said that Arthur has told them to watch there weight during the off season. Don't see that being much of a problem.

The rest of your post is interesting, whilst I agree with that idea. Don't think it would have realistically would have happened. Maybe 1 or 2 changes but not 5 or 6 new faces.

 

[Billy1999]

Tour Zimbabwe with an A squad to try and utilise bench strength,The boys do deserve a rest,However they should maintain their diet and also Should watch themselves over their career up to now and try and correct weaknesses that mickey has identified

Azhar is unlucky but he is a great batsmen,I'm more worried about the batters

Babar,Fakhar,Azhar then anyone else

Malik,Hafeez,Imad,Shadab will get game time

This is where the PCB should come in

Trying to get county/League contracts for players,Making the NCA larger and setting up more practice grounds in players home cities,Educating players/Arranging Tours with plans.

 

[Markhor]

This is entirely self-inflicted after PCB needlessly cancelled the Bangladesh tour by stubbornly demanding they tour Pakistan first. How can it be argued that Bangladesh won't be an attraction in the UAE when we've invited the likes of West Indies and New Zealand there ?

There is a sizeable BD migrant community in UAE too so I don't buy that excuse.

An alternative is to tour Zimbabwe (after their Sri Lanka tour) or Ireland who've just been given Test status. It'll be a perfect opportunity to bed in Younis and Misbah's replacements before facing Sri Lanka in the autumn.

 

[cricketAXEpert]

At a time when the Pakistan team is buoyant and confidence is sky-high, we find ourselves in a situation where there is no international cricket for 4 months.

Who is at fault for this?

Do you think it's bad luck?

Is it poor planning and a lack of a Plan B?

Poor Planning, in fact PCB is not doing their job. They keep crying about BCCI (knowing fully well that Indian Govt is no mood to allow cricket) And on top of that Bangladesh trip is cancelled, we badly need a test Series as we need to try out Replacements for MIsbah, YK, Shan Masood and Asad Shafiq. Bangladesh was perfect opposition do that against.

 

[90MPH]

It's bad for us Fans - 4 months is far too long.

Not too sure it's that bad for the players but I reckon 2 month layoff was long enough.

Oh well, nothing can be done now.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

It's bad for us Fans - 4 months is far too long.

Not too sure it's that bad for the players but I reckon 2 month layoff was long enough.

Oh well, nothing can be done now.

Why is everyone saying 4 months, there is a strong possibility of a tour of World XI to Pakistan in September which is 2 months from now.

 

[saeed5646]

It's bad for us Fans - 4 months is far too long.

Not too sure it's that bad for the players but I reckon 2 month layoff was long enough.

Oh well, nothing can be done now.

Imagine pcb allow pakistan player to participate in bpl .this will be very very dumb and unacceptable unless they change their plans to tour ban next month than it will make sense

 

[Blitz]

I laugh at the amount of people saying they deserve/need a rest.

This isn't football, and even then those guys play a lot more. Tennis players play the hardest game around, almost every week of the year.

We're talking about professional athletes here, and we're talking cricket.....

Even in cricket, you've got India or England who never stop playing.


Yes you can mention the 'being away' at all times, but I'm involved in a job that requires so much national and international travel. I find it all the same. Any travel away from family is hard, and I doubt even for home series England/India players are actually living at home.

This is the same crap as our chairman came out with recently 'Mickey treats players hard'. Just feels so typically Pakistani.

 

[Asif321]

need some rest time from cricket, as a viewer also

 

[kaifmazhar]

Actually there don't seem to be any planning at all like usual from them.

 

[princeuk]

4 months is a long time for a break. They need to squeeze in at least one limited overs series to be in the winning momentum.

Agreed, They need to fit something in as 4 months without any cricket can kill any good momentum.

 

[Adil_94]

4 months is way too long for a break. India play way more cricket than us and they were in WI 2 days after the CT Final.

4 months is a total momentum killer. They could have had a 1 month or 6 weeks rest celebrate eid bit of a rest then go again. Shouldnt have cancelled the BD series if we cam invite WI n NZ to UAE then Bangla can play too. it would be a really competitive series too esp in LOIs and now YK n Misbah has gone Tests would be close too.

This Bangla team would be more compelling to watch in UAE than WI was.

 

[Savak]

4 months is way too long for a break. India play way more cricket than us and they were in WI 2 days after the CT Final.

4 months is a total momentum killer. They could have had a 1 month or 6 weeks rest celebrate eid bit of a rest then go again. Shouldnt have cancelled the BD series if we cam invite WI n NZ to UAE then Bangla can play too. it would be a really competitive series too esp in LOIs and now YK n Misbah has gone Tests would be close too.

This Bangla team would be more compelling to watch in UAE than WI was.

Nah, needed to teach Bang team and nation a lesson that they cannot treat Pakistan like crap and take Pakistan for granted.

 

[Slog]

Boys deserve a rest. Well deserved

Its been non stop for a while

 

[Slog]

This is entirely self-inflicted after PCB needlessly cancelled the Bangladesh tour by stubbornly demanding they tour Pakistan first. How can it be argued that Bangladesh won't be an attraction in the UAE when we've invited the likes of West Indies and New Zealand there ?

There is a sizeable BD migrant community in UAE too so I don't buy that excuse.

An alternative is to tour Zimbabwe (after their Sri Lanka tour) or Ireland who've just been given Test status. It'll be a perfect opportunity to bed in Younis and Misbah's replacements before facing Sri Lanka in the autumn.

Bangladeshi population in UAE is almost 1/3rd of Pakistan's with majority being from lower income strata.

 

[Couch Cricketer]

Big difference most teams play half their cricket at home so are around friends and family at least 8months out of 12 our players play all their matches abroad. So barely get to be at home.

 

[MMHS]

Bangladeshi population in UAE is almost 1/3rd of Pakistan's with majority being from lower income strata.

Have you checked any data? I wonder why people get caught off guard with facts & figures that you can check with couple of double clicks.

That income strata I should ignore if it helps with someone having self satisfaction. But, those who go to stadium to watch cricket, hardly does that on their BMWs - neither from PAK, BD, IND or SRL. Next time ask PCB to use better excuses after hosting NZ, SRL & WI.

 

[Nisar1965]

Whitewahing BD in BD, that too easily?
Not a piece of cake bro.

 

[Couch Cricketer]

I agree with MMHS Bangladesh has the most cricket mad crowd a series with Bangladesh would fill more seats in UAE than any other apart from India.
[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] PCB rejecting playing in UAE was not about filling seats in the ground as that income is very little compared to tele rights and sponsorships which for Bangladesh series won't be much as not much interest in Pakistan. When we play series against Eng or Aus the income from rights sold to their broadcaster like sky makes it profitable where as series against all other teams are loss leaders adding another loss making series is not feasible for PCB. Though expecting any team to do a full tour is simply put unreasonable in the current security situation.

 

[MMHS]

I agree with MMHS Bangladesh has the most cricket mad crowd a series with Bangladesh would fill more seats in UAE than any other apart from India.
[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] PCB rejecting playing in UAE was not about filling seats in the ground as that income is very little compared to tele rights and sponsorships which for Bangladesh series won't be much as not much interest in Pakistan. When we play series against Eng or Aus the income from rights sold to their broadcaster like sky makes it profitable where as series against all other teams are loss leaders adding another loss making series is not feasible for PCB. Though expecting any team to do a full tour is simply put unreasonable in the current security situation.

Actually, media rights will be even higher for PCB - and that's in hard cash US$, which is converted at 80 vs 100 between BDT & PKR.

In recent times, if you had noticed we have played 3 series in NZ, SRL & Ireland - from title sponsors to stadium billboard, playing field branding (these days they put logo on either side of wickets), Site screen branding, 99% was Bangladeshi sponsors. And, these are not multinationals doing business globally - Pran, Walton, Nasir Group, PHP, Beximco, Squire, Partex, Dhaka Bank ... these are almost 100% Bangladeshi owned companies & most of them are with over a billion $ market capitalization value. Take just 2-3% of their gross sale volume/year is quite a some & there is absolutely no better avenues for them to invest for branding than a PAK-BD Series.

The day finally PCB is forced to host BD in UAE, you'll be surprised to see how many BD brands out bidding PAK brands in terms of endorsements & media rights. It'll be extremely shameful for PCB to put their tails between legs & host BD in UAE or SRL - which could have been avoided. If the ICC's years long Test/ODI program happens, do you think that PCB'll get away with double standards? That day again I am sure there'll be lots of name calling of BD & BD posters here at PP, which is totally uncalled for.

PCB & PAK as a state today is standing at this position because of double standards, wrong strategy, short term gain from any relationship, arrogance, self proclaimed supremacy & denying proper rights of deserving people throughout it's history of leadership - otherwise, check the eco-social index's of IND, PAK & BD over last 4 decades, every sensible PAK posters here would have restrained posting in this thread in self realization out of shame.

 

[Couch Cricketer]

You could be correct most professional boards would do a feasibility study of the series I am not sure PCB did but either way trying to strong arm BCB to tour Pakistan was an idiotic move.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

4 months isn't a break, it's a hiatus

Plus a few guys are playing county or other cricket anyway, so they're not really even taking a break

only Amir now, then later afridi, hassan and junaid i think..