Pakistan cricket's downfall from 2019

[CerebralPatriot]

During the 2019 world cup the Pakistani side with an inexperienced Shaheen, weak middle order and non existent spin department was able to finish joint 5th on the tournament table only losing a semi final spot due to net run rate. At the same time we were ranked the number 1 T20 team, had won 9 consecutive games against Australia and New Zealand and drawn a series vs England where India had lost 4-1. Looking at those results today it seems as though any rational observer would assume that the core group of players responsible for these outstanding performances would have been backed for another 4 years, building a team which could have looked to dominate world cricket for the next half a decade. This however did not happen

When Misbah Ul Haq was appointed as coach and chief selector of the Pakistan cricket team he made it his mission to destroy a team which was well set and looked to be moving in the right direction and he did this by removing the glue which kept it together the captain.

Fast foward to now and the consequences of his actions are being felt at its fullest. Our T20 team is stacked with two pathetic accumulators who force any up and coming talent to bat below them, destroying their confidence and sending them back into domestics. Our test team can't even win a series at home and our ODI team, well the result vs India tells you the whole story.

It's honestly sad that one man's dislike of a player who was not just our best keeper but one of our best captains has now resulted in Pakistan cricket falling into new lows with now a culture of friendship, mediocrity and trying to look cute on field dominating.

The only way to fix this root is drastic changes and brining back the setup of 2019 while obviously replacing those who have retired with fresh blood

 

[saqib.rai]

A similar post was made by people like you when West Indies thrashed us in the 2019 World Cup.

The test team was good? We would have also lost 4-1 against England in 2018 if it was a 5 match series looking at our performance in the last match. We LOST 2-0 against Sri Lanka in the UAE. How was the test team any better?

Before the ODI World Cup, we lost 5-0 to Australia and 5-0 to England and you are saying the ODI team was doing wonders under Sarfraz lol. The guy literally called a South African player 'kaala' and you want such people to be CAPTAIN?

In t20, those consecutive series win dont tell the whole picture. They were against West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe or B teams of other countries. Both Australia and New Zealand fielded B teams when we beat them in the UAE. South Africa beat us in the t20 series in 2019 and we also lost the one-off match against England.

Point being, the 2019 team was not much better. I have been watching cricket since 2004 and the team we have right now is better than most of the teams we have had in the past 20 years. It was just one bad day- like India had in the 2017 Champions Trophy final

 

[Rana]

During the 2019 world cup the Pakistani side with an inexperienced Shaheen, weak middle order and non existent spin department was able to finish joint 5th on the tournament table only losing a semi final spot due to net run rate. At the same time we were ranked the number 1 T20 team, had won 9 consecutive games against Australia and New Zealand and drawn a series vs England where India had lost 4-1. Looking at those results today it seems as though any rational observer would assume that the core group of players responsible for these outstanding performances would have been backed for another 4 years, building a team which could have looked to dominate world cricket for the next half a decade. This however did not happen

When Misbah Ul Haq was appointed as coach and chief selector of the Pakistan cricket team he made it his mission to destroy a team which was well set and looked to be moving in the right direction and he did this by removing the glue which kept it together the captain.

Fast foward to now and the consequences of his actions are being felt at its fullest. Our T20 team is stacked with two pathetic accumulators who force any up and coming talent to bat below them, destroying their confidence and sending them back into domestics. Our test team can't even win a series at home and our ODI team, well the result vs India tells you the whole story.

It's honestly sad that one man's dislike of a player who was not just our best keeper but one of our best captains has now resulted in Pakistan cricket falling into new lows with now a culture of friendship, mediocrity and trying to look cute on field dominating.

The only way to fix this root is drastic changes and brining back the setup of 2019 while obviously replacing those who have retired with fresh blood

Great post

The crimes of Misbah against Pakistan cricket will not be forgotten

 

[BouncerGuy]

A similar post was made by people like you when West Indies thrashed us in the 2019 World Cup.

The test team was good? We would have also lost 4-1 against England in 2018 if it was a 5 match series looking at our performance in the last match. We LOST 2-0 against Sri Lanka in the UAE. How was the test team any better?

Before the ODI World Cup, we lost 5-0 to Australia and 5-0 to England and you are saying the ODI team was doing wonders under Sarfraz lol. The guy literally called a South African player 'kaala' and you want such people to be CAPTAIN?

In t20, those consecutive series win dont tell the whole picture. They were against West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe or B teams of other countries. Both Australia and New Zealand fielded B teams when we beat them in the UAE. South Africa beat us in the t20 series in 2019 and we also lost the one-off match against England.

Point being, the 2019 team was not much better. I have been watching cricket since 2004 and the team we have right now is better than most of the teams we have had in the past 20 years. It was just one bad day- like India had in the 2017 Champions Trophy final

I agree. We have the best team at the moment and 1 game doesn't decide the future of this team. We have to be patient and judge the players on their performances rather than liking and disliking.

 

[CerebralPatriot]

A similar post was made by people like you when West Indies thrashed us in the 2019 World Cup.

The test team was good? We would have also lost 4-1 against England in 2018 if it was a 5 match series looking at our performance in the last match. We LOST 2-0 against Sri Lanka in the UAE. How was the test team any better?

Before the ODI World Cup, we lost 5-0 to Australia and 5-0 to England and you are saying the ODI team was doing wonders under Sarfraz lol. The guy literally called a South African player 'kaala' and you want such people to be CAPTAIN?

In t20, those consecutive series win dont tell the whole picture. They were against West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe or B teams of other countries. Both Australia and New Zealand fielded B teams when we beat them in the UAE. South Africa beat us in the t20 series in 2019 and we also lost the one-off match against England.

Point being, the 2019 team was not much better. I have been watching cricket since 2004 and the team we have right now is better than most of the teams we have had in the past 20 years. It was just one bad day- like India had in the 2017 Champions Trophy final

I never made such posts nor did I react the way I'm reacting now

The series loss to Aus was basically a B team captained by Malik so I count that as a non result and vs England we were missing Amir plus trying different combinations, something we wont even do vs Nepal now

So one series loss vs England while experimenting is not a reflection on what Sarfraz was as a captain. His 13 consecutive wins, number one T20 ranking and excellent test result vs a top England team really show what kind of captain he was.

Also the team he was leading had a much a inexperienced Shaheen, well past prime Wahab and Amir who had only recently come back from illness and yet he was still able to bring that team to the brink of the semi finals. If Babar was leading the same team I can guarantee we would not have won a single game that world cup

 

[saqib.rai]

I never made such posts nor did I react the way I'm reacting now

The series loss to Aus was basically a B team captained by Malik so I count that as a non result and vs England we were missing Amir plus trying different combinations, something we wont even do vs Nepal now

So one series loss vs England while experimenting is not a reflection on what Sarfraz was as a captain. His 13 consecutive wins, number one T20 ranking and excellent test result vs a top England team really show what kind of captain he was.

Also the team he was leading had a much a inexperienced Shaheen, well past prime Wahab and Amir who had only recently come back from illness and yet he was still able to bring that team to the brink of the semi finals. If Babar was leading the same team I can guarantee we would not have won a single game that world cup

What was his own performance? What Rizwan has done as a batsman and keeper in the past 4 years, idk how people can still have the Rizwan vs Sarfraz debate.
So he doesn't fit into the team, but you still want him to play and also captain? Lol

And in the 2019 World Cup, we had Hafeez, Babar, Haris Sohail as middle order and you call it weak?

Had Shadab and Imad as the 2 all-rounders.

Amir is just as good as Shaheen, plus Wahab was bowling next level before the World Cup. I remember watching him in the Pakistan Cup and he was miles ahead of other bowlers. Hassan Ali at that time was a wicket taker and had a lot of confidence as he had won Player of the Tournament in the last ICC event held in England in 2017.

So it was a pretty decent team. But still lost 5-0 against Australia and England and were thrashed by West Indies and India in the World Cup. So no matter how hard you try to justify Sarfraz as a good captain, he was NOT.

 

[BouncerGuy]

There is no comparison between Babar Azam and Sarfaraz's captaincy. Babar is still relatively new in the captaincy role whereas Sarfaraz was a well-established captain as he captained the Pakistan under-19 team to win an under-19 World Cup in the past so I will not compare them. I will still keep BABAR as my captain as the record shows he is a great captain at the moment it doesn't matter if he is playing against B teams or whatever, you still have to perform you still have to give your best every time.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

A similar post was made by people like you when West Indies thrashed us in the 2019 World Cup.

The test team was good? We would have also lost 4-1 against England in 2018 if it was a 5 match series looking at our performance in the last match. We LOST 2-0 against Sri Lanka in the UAE. How was the test team any better?

Before the ODI World Cup, we lost 5-0 to Australia and 5-0 to England and you are saying the ODI team was doing wonders under Sarfraz lol. The guy literally called a South African player 'kaala' and you want such people to be CAPTAIN?

In t20, those consecutive series win dont tell the whole picture. They were against West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe or B teams of other countries. Both Australia and New Zealand fielded B teams when we beat them in the UAE. South Africa beat us in the t20 series in 2019 and we also lost the one-off match against England.

Point being, the 2019 team was not much better. I have been watching cricket since 2004 and the team we have right now is better than most of the teams we have had in the past 20 years. It was just one bad day- like India had in the 2017 Champions Trophy final

Kaala just means black not a racist term at all.

 

[CerebralPatriot]

What was his own performance? What Rizwan has done as a batsman and keeper in the past 4 years, idk how people can still have the Rizwan vs Sarfraz debate.
So he doesn't fit into the team, but you still want him to play and also captain? Lol

And in the 2019 World Cup, we had Hafeez, Babar, Haris Sohail as middle order and you call it weak?

Had Shadab and Imad as the 2 all-rounders.

Amir is just as good as Shaheen, plus Wahab was bowling next level before the World Cup. I remember watching him in the Pakistan Cup and he was miles ahead of other bowlers. Hassan Ali at that time was a wicket taker and had a lot of confidence as he had won Player of the Tournament in the last ICC event held in England in 2017.

So it was a pretty decent team. But still lost 5-0 against Australia and England and were thrashed by West Indies and India in the World Cup. So no matter how hard you try to justify Sarfraz as a good captain, he was NOT.

What has Rizwan done as a batsmen? Lose us three tournaments, acts as a clown with the opposition, failed to score any runs on the roads of Pindi and Karachi?

Yes our 2019 middle order was weak. Haris Sohail was on comeback in the tournament, Hafeez was past his prime and Babar was not yet to hit any kind of purple patch.

Wahab was poor in the tournament, leaking runs left right and centre and as I said Amir was coming back from an illness and was not 100% until mid tournament

Anways as mentioned our 5-0 lose to Australia was not a team lead by Sarfraz.

Also I think your forgetting the champions trophy, you know the only tournament we have won in a decade. In his first chance Sarfraz was able to get us silverware whereas Babar has had 3 goes and got us nothing

 

[CerebralPatriot]

There is no comparison between Babar Azam and Sarfaraz's captaincy. Babar is still relatively new in the captaincy role whereas Sarfaraz was a well-established captain as he captained the Pakistan under-19 team to win an under-19 World Cup in the past so I will not compare them. I will still keep BABAR as my captain as the record shows he is a great captain at the moment it doesn't matter if he is playing against B teams or whatever, you still have to perform you still have to give your best every time.

Babar was captain of the U19 2012 squad so he too had that experience.

Winning against B teams does not matter. You could give any Tom, Dick or Harry captaincy and they will produce similar results

 

[owenhcricket]

Didn't Pakistan just do well in two T20 world cups and rise to no1. in ODI cricket?

 

[BouncerGuy]

We did give tom, dick, and harry an afghan series, and the result is there. 1 match or even 1 series is not enough to judge any captain's performance. It is a team effort always whatever the situation is. Captain has an important role to play.

 

[Mamoon]

What downfall?

Pakistan was a borderline minnow in ODI cricket between 2017 and 2019. They lost 30 out of the last 40 ODIs played under Mickey including getting humiliated in the 2018 Asia Cup after entering the tournament as CT winners full of overconfidence and self-created hype.

The 2019 World Cup performance was nothing to write home about either. Finishing 5th in a 10 team tournament is not a success. In addition, Pakistan had the third worst NRR among all sides.

Pakistan’s ODI performances have picked up over the last two years. The current Pakistan team should beat the 2018-19 Pakistan team over the course of a series, however, much like the 2018 Asia Cup, this Asia Cup has also served a timely reality check.

Like in 2018 when the team was still high on the euphoria of the CT, the current Pakistan team entered this Asia Cup with their heads in the clouds.

Number one ranking this and that, best bowling this and that, Babar this and that etc. but the harsh reality has once again dawned on them and that reality is that India remains the premier Asian side by some distance.

 

[CerebralPatriot]

What downfall?

Pakistan was a borderline minnow in ODI cricket between 2017 and 2019. They lost 30 out of the last 40 ODIs played under Mickey including getting humiliated in the 2018 Asia Cup after entering the tournament as CT winners full of overconfidence and self-created hype.

The 2019 World Cup performance was nothing to write home about either. Finishing 5th in a 10 team tournament is not a success. In addition, Pakistan had the third worst NRR among all sides.

Pakistan’s ODI performances have picked up over the last two years. The current Pakistan team should beat the 2018-19 Pakistan team over the course of a series, however, much like the 2018 Asia Cup, this Asia Cup has also served a timely reality check.

Like in 2018 when the team was still high on the euphoria of the CT, the current Pakistan team entered this Asia Cup with their heads in the clouds.

Number one ranking this and that, best bowling this and that, Babar this and that etc. but the harsh reality has once again dawned on them and that reality is that India remains the premier Asian side by some distance.

Boderline minnow? A champions trophy winning team is not a borderline minnow team.

Regarding the world cup, we beat the two finalist in the pool stages and realistically should have made the semi's however results went against us specifically India's two games vs NZ and Eng

The 2018 Asia Cup was a poor outing I do concur however that was one poor tournament result and other than that Sarfraz's team in tournaments did a pretty fine job

Also how can you say our team now is better than in 2019. In 2023 we can't even win series vs full strength teams both home and away, we are being demolished by over 200 runs (something which never happened under Sarfraz's captaincy) and struggling to dominate minnows.

In 2019 Fakhar was twice the player he is now, we had a much better keeper and we had an Amir who was breathing fire. Now we have a tailender Fakhar, a clown wicket keeper and a trio of pacer's who although are talented but do not have the mentorship or guidance to become true match winners

 

[Mamoon]

Boderline minnow? A champions trophy winning team is not a borderline minnow team.

Regarding the world cup, we beat the two finalist in the pool stages and realistically should have made the semi's however results went against us specifically India's two games vs NZ and Eng

The 2018 Asia Cup was a poor outing I do concur however that was one poor tournament result and other than that Sarfraz's team in tournaments did a pretty fine job

Also how can you say our team now is better than in 2019. In 2023 we can't even win series vs full strength teams both home and away, we are being demolished by over 200 runs (something which never happened under Sarfraz's captaincy) and struggling to dominate minnows.

In 2019 Fakhar was twice the player he is now, we had a much better keeper and we had an Amir who was breathing fire. Now we have a tailender Fakhar, a clown wicket keeper and a trio of pacer's who although are talented but do not have the mentorship or guidance to become true match winners

This is pure revisionism of history.

Rewriting history to suit your narrative is very easy but in this day and age, it takes very little effort to expose distorted information.

After winning the Champions Trophy and beating SL 5-0 in the UAE, Sarfraz led Pakistan to one of its most embarrassing periods in Pakistan’s ODI history starting in January 2018 and ending in July 2019.

During that period, Pakistan played 33 ODIs against Australia, India, England, New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies and Bangladesh and lost 24 matches.

Yes you read it right. 33 matches, 24 defeats. That is a borderline minnow performance and 33 matches is not a small sample where you could put it down to bad luck and bad form.

It says everything that needs to be said about how incompetent Sarfraz was as an ODI captain and how incompetent the team was.

During this period, Pakistan played:

6 ODIs vs Australia, lost 6
6 ODIs vs England, lost 4 with 1 no result
3 ODIs vs India, lost 3
9 ODIs vs New Zealand, lost 6 with 1 no result
6 ODIs vs South Africa, lost 3
2 ODIs vs Bangladesh, lost 1
1 ODI vs West Indies which they lost

In summary, Pakistan was getting thrashed left right and center by all the top sides in that period except South Africa against whom Pakistan had a 50% winning record.

It is hilarious that you are using this abysmal period as a barometer for success. What downfall? This period was the downfall.

Fakhar in 2019 was not twice the player he is today. He was woeful throughout the 2019 World Cup and this year, notwithstanding the current poor form, he has plundered 3-4 hundreds including a 180 vs New Zealand.

Imam and Babar are better players now than they were in 2019.

Rizwan for all his shortcomings is scoring a lot more runs than Sarfraz did in that period.

Iftikhar and Agha have done much better than what Malik and Asif Ali were doing in the middle-order in 2019.

The current trio of Shaheen, Naseem and Rauf are performing better as a group than Amir, Hassan and Wahab did in 2019.

Overall, in spite of its glaring weaknesses, Pakistan’s current ODI team is better than the one that got whacked by all proper teams in 2018-19.

If you have a series between the 2022-23 Pakistan ODI team and the 2018-19 ODI team, there is no doubt in my mind that the 2022-23 would win the series in all conditions.

 

[shah9425]

Boderline minnow? A champions trophy winning team is not a borderline minnow team.

Regarding the world cup, we beat the two finalist in the pool stages and realistically should have made the semi's however results went against us specifically India's two games vs NZ and Eng

The 2018 Asia Cup was a poor outing I do concur however that was one poor tournament result and other than that Sarfraz's team in tournaments did a pretty fine job

Also how can you say our team now is better than in 2019. In 2023 we can't even win series vs full strength teams both home and away, we are being demolished by over 200 runs (something which never happened under Sarfraz's captaincy) and struggling to dominate minnows.

In 2019 Fakhar was twice the player he is now, we had a much better keeper and we had an Amir who was breathing fire. Now we have a tailender Fakhar, a clown wicket keeper and a trio of pacer's who although are talented but do not have the mentorship or guidance to become true match winners

Can you tell about the personal performance of sarfraz during this period?

 

[Mamoon]

Can you tell about the personal performance of sarfraz during this period?

Pakistan’s ODI performances and Sarfraz’s individual performances during 2018-19 was as bad as it could get but somehow, it has become a benchmark for success.

When Sarfraz was rested in the Australian ODI series prior to the World Cup, his replacement Rizwan scored 2 centuries in 5 games, something Sarfraz couldn’t dream of doing.

He was a good ODI batsman between 2015 and 2016 but completely lost his way in the last 12-18 months of his captaincy and started hiding behind tail-enders.

It was embarrassing to see Hassan, Amir and Wahab frequently bat above him.

 

[CerebralPatriot]

This is pure revisionism of history.

Rewriting history to suit your narrative is very easy but in this day and age, it takes very little effort to expose distorted information.

After winning the Champions Trophy and beating SL 5-0 in the UAE, Sarfraz led Pakistan to one of its most embarrassing periods in Pakistan’s ODI history starting in January 2018 and ending in July 2019.

During that period, Pakistan played 33 ODIs against Australia, India, England, New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies and Bangladesh and lost 24 matches.

Yes you read it right. 33 matches, 24 defeats. That is a borderline minnow performance and 33 matches is not a small sample where you could put it down to bad luck and bad form.

It says everything that needs to be said about how incompetent Sarfraz was as an ODI captain and how incompetent the team was.

During this period, Pakistan played:

6 ODIs vs Australia, lost 6
6 ODIs vs England, lost 4 with 1 no result
3 ODIs vs India, lost 3
9 ODIs vs New Zealand, lost 6 with 1 no result
6 ODIs vs South Africa, lost 3
2 ODIs vs Bangladesh, lost 1
1 ODI vs West Indies which they lost

In summary, Pakistan was getting thrashed left right and center by all the top sides in that period except South Africa against whom Pakistan had a 50% winning record.

It is hilarious that you are using this abysmal period as a barometer for success. What downfall? This period was the downfall.

Fakhar in 2019 was not twice the player he is today. He was woeful throughout the 2019 World Cup and this year, notwithstanding the current poor form, he has plundered 3-4 hundreds including a 180 vs New Zealand.

Imam and Babar are better players now than they were in 2019.

Rizwan for all his shortcomings is scoring a lot more runs than Sarfraz did in that period.

Iftikhar and Agha have done much better than what Malik and Asif Ali were doing in the middle-order in 2019.

The current trio of Shaheen, Naseem and Rauf are performing better as a group than Amir, Hassan and Wahab did in 2019.

Overall, in spite of its glaring weaknesses, Pakistan’s current ODI team is better than the one that got whacked by all proper teams in 2018-19.

If you have a series between the 2022-23 Pakistan ODI team and the 2018-19 ODI team, there is no doubt in my mind that the 2022-23 would win the series in all conditions.

Look bi-laterals do not matter in this day or age. If that is your metric than the Australian T20 team of 2021 was also incompetent considering they lost 3-0 to Bangladesh and 4-1 to West Indies.

Again the 5-0 loss to Australia was not under Sarfraz's captaincy so that can't be used against him.

Fakhar in 2019 was still better than the Fakhar of today, all his centuries this year came on the flat decks on Pakistan and if he was given a chance in 2019, he would have probably added two more double centuries to his tally

Now you are correct in assessing that both Babar and Imam are better players now than they were in 2019 as well as the middle order being marginally better than 2019 although that is debatable.

And once again you are correct in saying that the current attack of Shaheen, Naseem and Rauf is better than the old attack especially when comparing to Hasan and Wahab but all of this proves my point

Despite a weaker time with a few more match winners in the form of Sarfraz him self as well as Imad and Amir, Sarfraz was able to get this team to finish 5th and should have qualified for the semi's if either one of our game vs SL had occured or India had beaten Nz or Eng.

This clearly demonstrates that the nucleus for a match winning team was being formed and if Sarfraz was kept at the helm and rightfully selected players on merit not dosti, than we would easily be a top ranked ODI and test team at the moment

 

[CerebralPatriot]

Can you tell about the personal performance of sarfraz during this period?

A match winning 50 vs England in the world cup, a 94 vs England and 40 vs Australia which would have been similiar to his innings vs SL in the Champions Trophy if Shaheen or Amir had stayed with him

All these performances outclass what Rizwan has done in the last 3.5 years

 

[CerebralPatriot]

Pakistan’s ODI performances and Sarfraz’s individual performances during 2018-19 was as bad as it could get but somehow, it has become a benchmark for success.

When Sarfraz was rested in the Australian ODI series prior to the World Cup, his replacement Rizwan scored 2 centuries in 5 games, something Sarfraz couldn’t dream of doing.

He was a good ODI batsman between 2015 and 2016 but completely lost his way in the last 12-18 months of his captaincy and started hiding behind tail-enders.

It was embarrassing to see Hassan, Amir and Wahab frequently bat above him.

And both those 100s came in loses so what's the point. Infact his second 100 was a clear example of his selfishness which now everyone sees

His willingness to put tailenders who could strike it was not embarrassing but showed pragmatism and his ability to read the game

 

[Mamoon]

Look bi-laterals do not matter in this day or age. If that is your metric than the Australian T20 team of 2021 was also incompetent considering they lost 3-0 to Bangladesh and 4-1 to West Indies.

Again the 5-0 loss to Australia was not under Sarfraz's captaincy so that can't be used against him.

Fakhar in 2019 was still better than the Fakhar of today, all his centuries this year came on the flat decks on Pakistan and if he was given a chance in 2019, he would have probably added two more double centuries to his tally

Now you are correct in assessing that both Babar and Imam are better players now than they were in 2019 as well as the middle order being marginally better than 2019 although that is debatable.

And once again you are correct in saying that the current attack of Shaheen, Naseem and Rauf is better than the old attack especially when comparing to Hasan and Wahab but all of this proves my point

Despite a weaker time with a few more match winners in the form of Sarfraz him self as well as Imad and Amir, Sarfraz was able to get this team to finish 5th and should have qualified for the semi's if either one of our game vs SL had occured or India had beaten Nz or Eng.

This clearly demonstrates that the nucleus for a match winning team was being formed and if Sarfraz was kept at the helm and rightfully selected players on merit not dosti, than we would easily be a top ranked ODI and test team at the moment

The fact that Pakistan played like a glorified minnow for 15 months and finished 5th in a 10 team World Cup with the third worst NRR shows that the Champions Trophy was a flash in the pan and no different to West Indies winning the tournament in 2004 at the peak of Australia’s golden era.

Pakistan was a poor ODI team during that period and Sarfraz was a poor captain. The results prove it and you cannot whitewash them because of the Champions Trophy.

You can’t milk a tournament forever and 15 months of pathetic performances cannot be swept under the carpet.

Sarfraz wasn’t captain during the UAE series vs Australia in 2019 but if he was nothing would have changed. Prior to that series, he achieved the almost impossible feat of leading Pakistan to 8 consecutive defeats in ODIs.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

This is pure revisionism of history.

Rewriting history to suit your narrative is very easy but in this day and age, it takes very little effort to expose distorted information.

After winning the Champions Trophy and beating SL 5-0 in the UAE, Sarfraz led Pakistan to one of its most embarrassing periods in Pakistan’s ODI history starting in January 2018 and ending in July 2019.

During that period, Pakistan played 33 ODIs against Australia, India, England, New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies and Bangladesh and lost 24 matches.

Yes you read it right. 33 matches, 24 defeats. That is a borderline minnow performance and 33 matches is not a small sample where you could put it down to bad luck and bad form.

It says everything that needs to be said about how incompetent Sarfraz was as an ODI captain and how incompetent the team was.

During this period, Pakistan played:

6 ODIs vs Australia, lost 6
6 ODIs vs England, lost 4 with 1 no result
3 ODIs vs India, lost 3
9 ODIs vs New Zealand, lost 6 with 1 no result
6 ODIs vs South Africa, lost 3
2 ODIs vs Bangladesh, lost 1
1 ODI vs West Indies which they lost

In summary, Pakistan was getting thrashed left right and center by all the top sides in that period except South Africa against whom Pakistan had a 50% winning record.

It is hilarious that you are using this abysmal period as a barometer for success. What downfall? This period was the downfall.

Fakhar in 2019 was not twice the player he is today. He was woeful throughout the 2019 World Cup and this year, notwithstanding the current poor form, he has plundered 3-4 hundreds including a 180 vs New Zealand.

Imam and Babar are better players now than they were in 2019.

Rizwan for all his shortcomings is scoring a lot more runs than Sarfraz did in that period.

Iftikhar and Agha have done much better than what Malik and Asif Ali were doing in the middle-order in 2019.

The current trio of Shaheen, Naseem and Rauf are performing better as a group than Amir, Hassan and Wahab did in 2019.

Overall, in spite of its glaring weaknesses, Pakistan’s current ODI team is better than the one that got whacked by all proper teams in 2018-19.

If you have a series between the 2022-23 Pakistan ODI team and the 2018-19 ODI team, there is no doubt in my mind that the 2022-23 would win the series in all conditions.

Good post. It was actually even worse. From that New Zealand series till the West Indies match in CWC, Pakistan only had 3 wins and 22 losses against top 8 sides.

That World Cup squad had too much mediocrity and mental midgetry .

Sarfraz, Malik, Hasan Ali, impactless Aamir with new ball, a very raw Hasnain who didn't play.

Only from PAK vs SA match did Pakistan look like a quality side with Fakhar, Imam, Babar, Haris and even Imad performing along with the Pacers and Shadab contributing as well.

Team has mostly improved since then except when Misbah was in charge

 

[Mamoon]

And both those 100s came in loses so what's the point. Infact his second 100 was a clear example of his selfishness which now everyone sees

His willingness to put tailenders who could strike it was not embarrassing but showed pragmatism and his ability to read the game

He knew he was awful so he decided to hide in the dressing room. It was a good example of him reading the game, but that doesn’t change the fact that he should have been able to prove himself to be a better striker than the tail.

Sarfraz no longer merited a place in the side as a player and he had to go. You can hide as a non-performing captain if the team is winning but as I just proved, Sarfraz led Pakistan to one of its most embarrassing periods ever in ODI history.

Rizwan scored two centuries in losing causes but Sarfraz at the time couldn’t even perform in losing causes. He was consistently failing and hiding and once Pakistan started to lose games, he had nowhere to hide.

The biggest shield for any captain leading a losing team is individual performance. That is what kept Misbah in the ODI job for years. When you are not performing as captain and your team is losing, it is all over for you.

 

[saqib.rai]

Tbh both of you are making really good arguments. Let's just say that

Pakistan was a pathetic ODI side under Sarfraz BUT did well in ICC events where it really matters- beat both the finalists in the 2019 World Cup and won the Champions Trophy. I would take that any day over India winning series all the time but losing important knockout matches.

 

[CerebralPatriot]

The fact that Pakistan played like a glorified minnow for 15 months and finished 5th in a 10 team World Cup with the third worst NRR shows that the Champions Trophy was a flash in the pan and no different to West Indies winning the tournament in 2004 at the peak of Australia’s golden era.

Pakistan was a poor ODI team during that period and Sarfraz was a poor captain. The results prove it and you cannot whitewash them because of the Champions Trophy.

You can’t milk a tournament forever and 15 months of pathetic performances cannot be swept under the carpet.

Sarfraz wasn’t captain during the UAE series vs Australia in 2019 but if he was nothing would have changed. Prior to that series, he achieved the almost impossible feat of leading Pakistan to 8 consecutive defeats in ODIs.

Well no it clearly displays that despite all our flaws at the time, Sarfraz was able to push a mediocre team into barely missing out in the semi's

Again trophies are what all teams look to achieve so yes it does make up for poor bilateral performances

The 2019 series would have been more competitive for Sarfraz for sure as he knew how to utlise our bowlers in UAE conditions and thus Australia wouldn't have racked up the totals they did so no need for stat padded centuries

 

[CerebralPatriot]

He knew he was awful so he decided to hide in the dressing room. It was a good example of him reading the game, but that doesn’t change the fact that he should have been able to prove himself to be a better striker than the tail.

Sarfraz no longer merited a place in the side as a player and he had to go. You can hide as a non-performing captain if the team is winning but as I just proved, Sarfraz led Pakistan to one of its most embarrassing periods ever in ODI history.

Rizwan scored two centuries in losing causes but Sarfraz at the time couldn’t even perform in losing causes. He was consistently failing and hiding and once Pakistan started to lose games, he had nowhere to hide.

The biggest shield for any captain leading a losing team is individual performance. That is what kept Misbah in the ODI job for years. When you are not performing as captain and your team is losing, it is all over for you.

Again different players have different limitations and the fact Sarfraz realised that and put his ego aside just shows his leadership abilities.

Now the one mistake he did make was not utilising himself as an opener, if he did than he would have definitely proven himself to be a match winner in both ODI's and T20's but alas some mistakes were made

 

[Major]

Knee jerk reaction no.155...

Pakistan is the current no.1 team. Just cause they lost to India, it is now a downfall... Indian fans are laughing at you guys

 

[shah9425]

Pakistan’s ODI performances and Sarfraz’s individual performances during 2018-19 was as bad as it could get but somehow, it has become a benchmark for success.

When Sarfraz was rested in the Australian ODI series prior to the World Cup, his replacement Rizwan scored 2 centuries in 5 games, something Sarfraz couldn’t dream of doing.

He was a good ODI batsman between 2015 and 2016 but completely lost his way in the last 12-18 months of his captaincy and started hiding behind tail-enders.

It was embarrassing to see Hassan, Amir and Wahab frequently bat above him.

Exactly Rizwan is way better performer as compared to sarfraz who was just bad mouthing players behind stumps and doing nothing himself
And an embarrassing defeat to weakest SL team in test

 

[shah9425]

A match winning 50 vs England in the world cup, a 94 vs England and 40 vs Australia which would have been similiar to his innings vs SL in the Champions Trophy if Shaheen or Amir had stayed with him

All these performances outclass what Rizwan has done in the last 3.5 years

He was lucky to survive that SL match in which he was dropped two or three times
Sorry he does not come close to Rizwan who has been more consistent performer

 

[shah9425]

He knew he was awful so he decided to hide in the dressing room. It was a good example of him reading the game, but that doesn’t change the fact that he should have been able to prove himself to be a better striker than the tail.

Sarfraz no longer merited a place in the side as a player and he had to go. You can hide as a non-performing captain if the team is winning but as I just proved, Sarfraz led Pakistan to one of its most embarrassing periods ever in ODI history.

Rizwan scored two centuries in losing causes but Sarfraz at the time couldn’t even perform in losing causes. He was consistently failing and hiding and once Pakistan started to lose games, he had nowhere to hide.

The biggest shield for any captain leading a losing team is individual performance. That is what kept Misbah in the ODI job for years. When you are not performing as captain and your team is losing, it is all over for you.

Misbah still used to end up as highest scorer in scorecard despite losing matches

 

[hassan918]

Knee jerk reaction no.155...

Pakistan is the current no.1 team. Just cause they lost to India, it is now a downfall... Indian fans are laughing at you guys

Pakistan are no longer no. 1 team. It is actually Australia who is on top of the ODI rankings.

 

[Major]

Pakistan are no longer no. 1 team. It is actually Australia who is on top of the ODI rankings.

nope.

ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings | ICC

Official International Cricket Council ranking for One Day International (ODI) cricket teams. Discover latest ICC rankings table, predict upcoming matches, see points and ratings for all teams.

www.icc-cricket.com

both are no.1, ratings are same, plus if there is a tie on ratings than points are considered. In this case points are also tied.

So both are no.1

 

[mrtaim3]

Lol give me a break! Pakistan pre-2019 was as bad as it could get in ODIs. We were even below Bangladesh in rankings. We never believed that we could win ODIs chasing even 220.

The current team is the best one we had in last 15 years. One bad day against India doesn't mean anything. India were all out for 156 in CT final chasing 300+ score. Were they a bad team? By no means. They just had a bad day. Same with Pakistan!

We have come quite far ahead from group culture and seniority complex. This is young team.

Our fielding has improved considerably. We are more consistent. The unpredictability tag was a farce which thankfully isn't the case anymore.

I'd back this team (with 2-3 changes) to reach Semis of the world cup or even play finals.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

I don't see it as a decline in fact, we gained significant momentum right after the 2019 World Cup and now we stand as the top ranked ODI team.

Yeah Asia Cup performance may not have met expectations for Pakistan but still we have achieved number of positive outcomes over the past four years.

 

[mominsaigol]

Some of these no 1 ranked team in the world comments did not Age well.

@CerebralPatriot good job predicting the future lol.

 

[CerebralPatriot]

And now we have hit rock bottom all because some people were to insecure to trust the process and let a proper leader develop a world class team

 

[ArabKnight]

And now we have hit rock bottom all because some people were to insecure to trust the process and let a proper leader develop a world class team

We need to get rid of all insecure incompetent corrupt players like Babar.

 

[Mahee]

so much overreaction....remember Pakistan is a great team in T20 format which is actually being called cricket now.....nobody cares about the 50 over or Test format....T20 is the present and T20 is the future of cricket and Pakistan are supreme in that.

 

[mominsaigol]

And now we have hit rock bottom all because some people were to insecure to trust the process and let a proper leader develop a world class team

Well all I can say is, you and a few others on this forumn like mamoon, me, rana, Topspin saw this coming.

 

[Farabi]

so much overreaction....remember Pakistan is a great team in T20 format which is actually being called cricket now.....nobody cares about the 50 over or Test format....T20 is the present and T20 is the future of cricket and Pakistan are supreme in that.

I agree with this. I don’t think other formats will exist beyond a date. PSL is good enough to keep Pakistan competitive

 

[Farabi]

I don't see it as a decline in fact, we gained significant momentum right after the 2019 World Cup and now we stand as the top ranked ODI team.

Yeah Asia Cup performance may not have met expectations for Pakistan but still we have achieved number of positive outcomes over the past four years.

Yup! 2021-2022 was a very good season for Pakistan cricket. A much better team than those in 2010s. However, there are still gaps that need to be addressed

 

[CerebralPatriot]

The downfall becomes a free fall. We are heading towards the death of Pakistan cricket

 

[Mamoon]

The funniest part is the delusion that the downfall started in 2019.

 

[CerebralPatriot]

The funniest part is the delusion that the downfall started in 2019.

I know you are taking joy from seeing Babar destroy the one institution in our country that had any kind of success and I don't blame you for that

However if your gonna disrespect a leader like Sarfraz than show actual results supporting your point and no bilateral series losses do not count. If they did than by your standard this current South African team would also be classed at the same level of Pakistan

Fact is, Sarfraz won us two ICC tournaments and would have won us a third if it wasn't for rain.

Also if he was leading us in the 2021 world cup that would have been another feather in his cap

 

[Mamoon]

I know you are taking joy from seeing Babar destroy the one institution in our country that had any kind of success and I don't blame you for that

However if your gonna disrespect a leader like Sarfraz than show actual results supporting your point and no bilateral series losses do not count. If they did than by your standard this current South African team would also be classed at the same level of Pakistan

Fact is, Sarfraz won us two ICC tournaments and would have won us a third if it wasn't for rain.

Also if he was leading us in the 2021 world cup that would have been another feather in his cap

Sure, you can hand him a fake World Cup trophy.

But I actually feel sad when I see such assessment. Delusions of grandeur has no cure.

 

[ArabKnight]

Sure, you can hand him a fake World Cup trophy.

But I actually feel sad when I see such assessment. Delusions of grandeur has no cure.

You know he actually won the QeAT this season and was the Batter of the Tournament (2nd highest most runs). Legend Sarfraz continues to add to his legacy. You can’t deny he’s the best captain in the last 30 years in Pakistan.

He is a Hall of Fame cricketer and legend Sitara e Pakistan Hilal e Pakistan Nishan e Pakistan . He proud khushi to this pathetic cricketing team after so many dark years.

 

[Mamoon]

You know he actually won the QeAT this season and was the Batter of the Tournament (2nd highest most runs). Legend Sarfraz continues to add to his legacy. You can’t deny he’s the best captain in the last 30 years in Pakistan.

He is a Hall of Fame cricketer and legend Sitara e Pakistan Hilal e Pakistan Nishan e Pakistan . He proud khushi to this pathetic cricketing team after so many dark years.

I couldn’t care less about the QeA trophy.

Sarfraz was clueless after the CT fluke and led Pakistan to unprecedented humiliation in 2018-19. Pakistan played like a minnow for 1.5 years and he batted like a tail-ender.

The revisionism is laughable.

 

[Asif321]

Pakistan was average during Sarfraz also but only thing was team looked in good spirts and fought hard . Sarfraz was a good leader yes . Babar is dud despite having a good team . Misbah was pathetic in LOI . We had some refreshing moments under sarfraz but that was it . Nothing special but a better one than misbah and current dud

 

[ArabKnight]

I couldn’t care less about the QeA trophy.

Sarfraz was clueless after the CT fluke and led Pakistan to unprecedented humiliation in 2018-19. Pakistan played like a minnow for 1.5 years and he batted like a tail-ender.

The revisionism is laughable.

Pakistan was on a 6 game ODI win streak when he was sacked as captain. You ever heard of that happening—a winner being sacked?

How is that leading Pakistan to humiliation?

 

[Mamoon]

Pakistan was on a 6 game ODI win streak when he was sacked as captain. You ever heard of that happening—a winner being sacked?

How is that leading Pakistan to humiliation?

Pakistan lost 32 out of 40 matches against the top sides between 2018-19.

They got pumped in the Asia Cup in UAE by India (twice) and Bangladesh.

They were dismissed for 103 vs West Indies in the opener that destroyed the NRR.

They lost to India again.

They had the the third worst NRR in the World Cup and had no business playing the semifinals.

Don’t give me that nonsense that they missed out on the semifinal because of the washout vs Sri Lanka.

If West Indies could roll over Pakistan like an associate team, if Bangladesh could beat South Africa, if Pakistan and Sri Lanka could beat England and if Afghanistan could push Pakistan and India to the last ball, Sri Lanka could also have beaten Pakistan.

If the West Indies vs Pakistan match was washed out, fans like you would have never believed in a million years that they would have dismissed Pakistan for 103 runs and chase down the total in 13.4 overs.

That match would also have become a hypothetical one sided victory for Pakistan just like the Sri Lanka match has become one. It is all about trying to make yourself feel better.

Furthermore, even if Pakistan would have beaten Sri Lanka, that wouldn’t have guaranteed qualification because India vs New Zealand was also washed out.

New Zealand had defeated India twice in that tournament (warm up and semifinal) and they could also have beaten them in the group game. New Zealand vs India in English conditions is extremely close to call.

Based on the completed matches, Pakistan did not deserve to qualify for the semifinals and were rightfully eliminated.

No one asked them to be dismissed for 103 against the West Indies which destroyed the NRR and no one asked them to lose to both India and Australia.

 

[Markhor]

I must have missed this era of world domination under Sarfraz. His last series as captain was a 0-3 home T20 series defeat against Sri Lanka C.

Our cricket has been on a downhill spiral since 1995. The causes go beyond any one individual.