Pakistan fans - Are you losing interest in cricket?

[Nasty Naz]

No, but watching cricket in UAE is the absolute worst.

It's crappy, slow pitches that don't do anything so our fast bowlers don't really come into play and we lack quality spinners so really the pitch doesn't help us at all. Our batsmen and visiting team batsmen play slow in general with a lot of mistimed shots and the cricket just isn't fun to watch at all. Lack of Pakistan/Indian matches are very disappointing too.

Different story if cricket is being played in Pakistan all the time. I am seeing signs of turning this team around with plenty of youngsters coming up and I think that's the path they gotta keep pushing through. The old tried, tested and failed players have been tried, tested and failed plenty and hopefully they continue to veer more away from the path and try to rebrand their cricket style like England did.

 

[gibsyhesperis]

I love cricket so whether Pakistan are good or bad I still watch cricket. From country cricket to all international cricket.
Obviously when Pakistan are playing it’s even better, but I’m not obsessed that they have to win.
Two things
1) Have heart and play for the cap
2) Play exciting cricket (I hate watching games in the UAE so much — a way to kill cricket as a spectacle is play test matches on dead wickets which only do something on the 4th or 5th day).
I’m an Arsenal fan — I know they will not win the league any time soon but they muscat play with passion and play with flair. I expect the same of Pakistan

 

[Saj]

Every now and then Pakistan produces a Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah.

Hopefully these 3 lads will take the team forward, but they will need support from the others, who if I'm totally honest, most aren't particularly great.

 

[ElRaja]

i was losing interest, esp in uae, but tests in pak were good with crowds and interesting strategic choices, a la 4 pacers, etc.

also there seems to be a glimmer of hope on the horizon, recent young players pak have elevated to the test squad and some player who have improved a bit, shaheen, babar, naseem, shadab, rizwan, abid, shan, etc could be the core of a decent test team over the next 5 years.

just need two middle order batsmen to support babar, and a specialist spinner to compete with yasir shah and i think this pak team would be very strong at home and competitive away.

the larger long term issue is still a lack of professionalism in leadership develpment and balance between national team and leagues.

 

[cricketfan11]

I used to be an ardent fan, but my interest has waned over the years. I didn't play/wasn't interested in any other sport. I'd watch every ball of a Test match if I could.

Pakistan team has declined to the extent that now the issue doesn't just seem to be with talent or player attitudes, people are talking about the cricket structure/ standards of coaching being so weak that Pakistan is actually incapable of producing world class players.

It has also become apparent over the years that even if good players are coming through, they lack the ability to perform over the course of the 5 days. It seems their skills are just suited to the shorter versions of the game.

 

[Afhan Ali]

Are you angry due to Pakistan cricket?

Cricket is dying in Pakistan, not much of under 14 boys are watching this mediocre team. I have 10 cousins under 16 years of age and no one is watching this test series.

10 years ago almost half of our class fellows were following team Pakistan but now only 3 out of 40 students follow PSL ( no test cricket following ).

This team makes me very angry, because I am sports/cricket fan but this team always humiliate us. Another thing which makes me angry " Pakistan have got an incredible talent in every field of life" ya phir " zara namm hu tu ye matti bari zarheez hai"

[MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] [MENTION=9]Saj[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=93712]MenInG[/MENTION] what should I do now?

Does I need to follow other cricket nation from the core of my heart?

Will Pakistan team ever be a top team again?

Why Pakistanis are saying we are more talented than X Y Z?

 

[QalandarFan]

Absolutely not!

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Have watched cricket for over 23 years now.

This performance is light years away to the lows that have happened in the last 2 decades. This is actually a stepping stone for the players that might make the core of this team in the next 6-7 years. Stuff like this happens and it keeps you grounded.

 

[Mueez]

Yes I’m disappointed. But that doesn’t mean I will stop supporting my team.

#IBleedGreen

 

[Greenstorm]

Rise of social media and Misbah are the reasons behind decrease in interest.

 

[MMHS]

Cricket is dying in Pakistan, not much of under 14 boys are watching this mediocre team. I have 10 cousins under 16 years of age and no one is watching this test series.

10 years ago almost half of our class fellows were following team Pakistan but now only 3 out of 40 students follow PSL ( no test cricket following ).

This team makes me very angry, because I am sports/cricket fan but this team always humiliate us. Another thing which makes me angry " Pakistan have got an incredible talent in every field of life" ya phir " zara namm hu tu ye matti bari zarheez hai"

[MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] [MENTION=9]Saj[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=93712]MenInG[/MENTION] what should I do now?

Does I need to follow other cricket nation from the core of my heart?

Will Pakistan team ever be a top team again?

Why Pakistanis are saying we are more talented than X Y Z?

Angry - not really; it was more or less predictable. It’ll be a bit bullish for me to say that - I could see this coming. Losing interest - definitely. Not because team is losing, rather the way they are playing cricket; this is something similar to PAK-IND of 1960s.

Luxury on borrowed money always ends in tears - that 1970-00 glories were entirely built on English County, when popular myth is that Pakistan may talent bohut hai. There are talented people everywhere if any skill based trait is followed by mass, some people will out perform most - but it ends there, system produces pro sportsmen from the talented amateurs. For PAK cricket, that was provided by English County.

I think, PAK won’t be a top team in near future, 10-15 years is not enough & more importantly- others are not in free fall like PAK. Only 10-12 countries play cricket seriously and in half of those its not even a major game any more, therefore with the population behind it, interest in mass and infrastructure already built, PAK will always be among pretenders, but I don’t think breaking the top five barrier is going to be easy. In fact, only that SRL & WIN is in sharper decline and they have a combined population base less than Karachi, otherwise they have produced better individuals in last 25 years, purely from their domestics - would have left PAK way behind by now.

You should follow PAK cricket passionately, because that is what keeps the game flowing, otherwise youngsters won’t be motivated to take this sports and the game will die permanently - that Hungary soccer example comes to mind again. But, what you can do is to be reasonable with other developing teams - remember, the biggest losers are those who can’t maintain their standard but talks loud, not those who are trying to catch up and overexcited with little success.

 

[Majid Khan]

I used to watch even test matches ball by ball in the 80s and 90s and at one stage before live overseas telecasts even listened to games on radio, checked scores on Teletext/Ceefax and even reading ball by ball text commentary on CrinInfo on dial up internet days. And enjoyed it.

However in recent years I’ve no longer enjoyed watching Venkatesh Prasad and Ajit Agarkar like pace bowling for Pakistan (if I ridiculed those Indian bowlers in 90s and called them mediocre because we had Wasim/Waqar/Shoaib , then I shouldn’t change the rule now Pakistan has similar mediocre pacers).

As for batting, I’ve only tuned into watch Pakistan when the following three batsmen have been at the crease for different reasons :

- Babar Azam : to watch his majestic strokes and admire this fine batsman in full flow.

- Mohammed Hafeez and Azhar Ali : To enjoy the artistry in their struggles against pace and moving ball, their trademark dismissals by edging to slip or lbw for the latter, in a weird kind of way always provided me entertainment In between the disappointing performances.

 

[ZamanFan]

I have not watched a single ball live this series. I havent visited cricinfo for sometime now
I just check this site only. I don't feel angry anymore as Misbah has helped me detach from this team. I used to get really emotional and used to blab angry outbursts. Thankfully no mor. It has happened before also in 2013 and 2014. I just stopped watching Pakistan team cos of Kamran Akmal and Misbah.
Most of the devoted fans of Pakistan cricket were made in the 90s. This generation does not even care as they dont have a player to look upto. they don't know the madness or the anticipation. I used to wait for days to see Saeed Anwar bat.

This current team is not Pakistan team its Pcb xi. Some people in BoG (board of governors) and PCB pull strings from behind the scene and create only devastation for those(fans) who love this team. Sports media in Pakistan is hravily biased and plaus its own politics
There is no space for a fan. After Misbah induction there was a gloom in sports related advertisers. The interest dived rock bottom. I am fearful for a time when Pcb's own BoG would refuse to sponsor their xi as no one is watching.

 

[Majid Khan]

I have not watched a single ball live this series. I havent visited cricinfo for sometime now
I just check this site only. I don't feel angry anymore as Misbah has helped me detach from this team. I used to get really emotional and used to blab angry outbursts. Thankfully no mor. It has happened before also in 2013 and 2014. I just stopped watching Pakistan team cos of Kamran Akmal and Misbah.
Most of the devoted fans of Pakistan cricket were made in the 90s. This generation does not even care as they dont have a player to look upto. they don't know the madness or the anticipation. I used to wait for days to see Saeed Anwar bat.

This current team is not Pakistan team its Pcb xi. Some people in BoG (board of governors) and PCB pull strings from behind the scene and create only devastation for those(fans) who love this team. Sports media in Pakistan is hravily biased and plaus its own politics
There is no space for a fan. After Misbah induction there was a gloom in sports related advertisers. The interest dived rock bottom. I am fearful for a time when Pcb's own BoG would refuse to sponsor their xi as no one is watching.

Same here , I managed to overcome my emotional attachment to Pakistan cricket team many years ago , when Ireland knocked Pakistan out of the 2007 World Cup - this was after witnessing the heart breaking exits of 1996 QF, humiliation in 1999 WC final, and destruction by India in 2003 WC - and not to mention to countless innings defeats in test cricket in between 1999 and 2007, with the icing on the cake being that test v Australia in Sharjah in early 2000s when Pakistan were 50 odd all out not just once, but twice in the same test while opposition scored 500 or whatever it was.

Since 2007 I’ve only followed Pakistan cricket team for entertainment value and not having any hopes or expectations - the innings defeats have continued , the humiliating defeats in major tournaments also, but it doesn’t hurt anymore. My main disappointment is now watching these guys for the most part is not even entertaining anymore , that attacking brand of cricket is gone too With batsmen looking to survive torture and bowlers only keen on bowling line and length outside off.

 

[ZamanFan]

[MENTION=452]Majid Khan[/MENTION]

Very nice of you to still consider this team providing entertainment value. The brand of cricket the fans watched was finished by 2003, with exit of all seniors barring Inzamam who spent his captaincy protecting his few favorites and destroying merit. There was a player called Farhan Adil who played under Rashid Latif in 2004 against visiting Bangladesh.

He played similar brand of cricket and was selected after performing in the domestic season. Inzamam as captain and chief selector did 2 things protecting his favorites like Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal. Did not allow any domestic performers in the team, if they were able to get in dont give them a test. And overburden bowlers with batsmen job. Apart from umar akmal, cousin Babar Azam and Imam his nephew no player was groomed or given proper chance.

 

[Titan24]

If only winning keeps people interested then 90% of the teams around the world including football clubs, NBA and other league teams would have had no fans.

Anyone who is a fan of any sport remains interested irrespective of the results in my opinion. Rising when you are down and maintaining the position when you have success is what any sport is about about. If loosing or lack of performance makes you loose interest than you were never the fan of the team or the sport, you are just fan of success which is never a constant phenomenon.

 

[Mueez]

If only winning keeps people interested then 90% of the teams around the world including football clubs, NBA and other league teams would have had no fans.

Anyone who is a fan of any sport remains interested irrespective of the results in my opinion. Rising when you are down and maintaining the position when you have success is what any sport is about about. If loosing or lack of performance makes you loose interest than you were never the fan of the team or the sport, you are just fan of success which is never a constant phenomenon.

Great post.

 

[ZamanFan]

If only winning keeps people interested then 90% of the teams around the world including football clubs, NBA and other league teams would have had no fans.

Anyone who is a fan of any sport remains interested irrespective of the results in my opinion. Rising when you are down and maintaining the position when you have success is what any sport is about about. If loosing or lack of performance makes you loose interest than you were never the fan of the team or the sport, you are just fan of success which is never a constant phenomenon.

Dont misconstrue and don't compare it with football teams. They dont surrender on their brand aof hame and whatever the results the team have players who fight. they dont keep them as burden nor they use them as pawns in the media.

This pcb xi has only brought shame to its rans whether its 2010 or 2020. They should be grateful they still have fans. If there was football craze here this sport will disappear from Pakistan

 

[Kroll]

If only winning keeps people interested then 90% of the teams around the world including football clubs, NBA and other league teams would have had no fans.

Anyone who is a fan of any sport remains interested irrespective of the results in my opinion. Rising when you are down and maintaining the position when you have success is what any sport is about about. If loosing or lack of performance makes you loose interest than you were never the fan of the team or the sport, you are just fan of success which is never a constant phenomenon.

This situation is a lot more complicated than that and you know it.

 

[Minnowbasher]

I haven't lost interest but I sometimes sincerely hope I do. It's just annoying when I'm so excited for a match or a series and as usual we play absolute rubbish.
And what makes things so much more frustrating is we have good players but they are either not selected or given a consistent run, or they are playing under rubbish coaching and captaincy. Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq are a cancer and shouldve been eradicated ages ago.

I genuinely make dua I lose interest in this sport its just frustrating and annoying. You win some you lose some yes but in the last 10 years or so we have been pathetic. Genuinly a rubbish team with a terrible coach and captain.

I dont have words to explain how annoyed I am...

 

[Majid Khan]

Dont misconstrue and don't compare it with football teams. They dont surrender on their brand aof hame and whatever the results the team have players who fight. they dont keep them as burden nor they use them as pawns in the media.

This pcb xi has only brought shame to its rans whether its 2010 or 2020. They should be grateful they still have fans. If there was football craze here this sport will disappear from Pakistan

Winning and losing is part of every sport and all fans have go through it , but using the analogy of football - if we were compare the torture Pakistan cricket fans have had to go through in the last 20 years , it would be the equivalent of a football team losing heavily with scores like 10-0, 9-1, 8-2 every other week on a regular basis, even if they win 4-1 against smaller teams every now and again. No fans can put up with that much humiliation.

Look at only the last two recent test series Pakistan have played away v Australia in December last year and now England.

The three tests v Aus as football scores were like: 9-0, 8-1, 10-1

And here in England , maybe 5-3, 0-0 and this game looks like it will end up as another 10-0 thumping.

Try finding loyal football fans who will carry on supporting team happily even after that

 

[Syed1]

Absolutely haven't watched a single bowl of the second and third tests.


Similar to when Misbah was captain and our ODI team was comprised of all Tuk Tuk batsmen and just one pacer in Gul.

 

[Titan24]

Dont misconstrue and don't compare it with football teams. They dont surrender on their brand aof hame and whatever the results the team have players who fight. they dont keep them as burden nor they use them as pawns in the media.

This pcb xi has only brought shame to its rans whether its 2010 or 2020. They should be grateful they still have fans. If there was football craze here this sport will disappear from Pakistan

Well I am not a super football fan but any true football fan can tell you the kind of politics which goes around in most clubs and its administration. In terms of media, the pressure on some of the most acclaimed clubs is a lot more as they are followed all around the world and it would be completely unrealistic to think that they never give in to pressure.

Coming to national football teams, do you really think that there is no politics involved in Brazil, Argentina etc? You can search countless articles on the mismanagement going on in some of the most highly regarded football nations. Still whenever these teams play their fans are crazily involved. France was a pretty good team but was struggling for sometime in comparison to their reputation but they got things right and won their second WC. Italy another top football nation didnt even qualify for the last WC, do you really think fans are not gonna watch Italy play again? Yes winning makes you win new fans and loosing make you loose some however, anyone who is fan of the sport and is a supporter of Italy is sure gonna watch whenever Italy plays.

Coming to the point, yes PCB have had some blunders in the last decade but assuming that it has only ever happened in PCB and never happened in any other board or any other sport is completely wrong. As I have said there are countless national teams and clubs who have been horrible in terms of performances as well as management and they still have millions of fans. Yes if someone isnt the fan of the sport then obviously your interest and support of your team is only dependent upon how your team does and thats fair enough.

Again at the core of all these facts, I am just sharing my views. I am a fan of sport called cricket and I support Pak so irrespective of results and in the abyss of disappointments I am still gonna watch whenever Pak is gonna play. I am pretty sure most of the poster on PP are despite all their criticism.

 

[Titan24]

This situation is a lot more complicated than that and you know it.

Yes situation is complicated but Pakistani people and Pakistani cricket fans like to assume that whatever they are facing is something extraordinary and has never happened in the world. Boards, teams, administrations do get mishandled and we do see turmoils as well. Yes in an ideal world everything should be perfect but, unfortunately thats no how it goes in most of the world.

I am not trying to change any ones view and decision if someone doesnt want to follow Pakistan cricket anymore. I am just sharing my views that if you are only gonna like something with perfection and no flaw then you should be prepared for disappointments as nothing is constant. If you are Aus fan then disappointments might be less as they are the most successful cricketing nation but its still gonna be there (Playing one sided series in UAE, Ind and drawing in BD etc are few examples from test cricket). As I said in the other post I love watching and following cricket and I support PCT, so irrespective of the results I know I am gonna keep on watching. I have a feeling that most of the posters including you will still be here for the T20 series vs Eng and upcoming tours.

 

[Hasan123]

For me since I realised Sarfraz wasn't the man as captain, I have lost a lot of passion and interest in Pakistan. Misbah is making me lose even more passion and interest. Other than Babar,Shaheen, and Rizwan I don't see any hope for the future. We talk about all these names on PP but there is no certainty they will improve things. We obviously shouldn't stick with failures like Azhar and Asad. But we shouldn't expect the replacements to be significantly better.

We need to accept we aren't good enough and are far away from being in the top 4 in the test and ODI rankings.

 

[Billa86]

Pakistan fans may not lose interest but they certainly get frustrated when the team loses from winning positions and displays a mediocre batting performance.

 

[Major]

Waseem Akram made a very interesting point that when you want to achieve something, insaan gaddhay ko be apna baap bana sakta hai.

Interestingly, I have seen this trend amongst Pakistani fans. There are Pakistani fans that want Pakistan to fail in an ICC tournament because there favorite player wasn't picked, or Pakistani fans that want a particular player to fail or be removed from the rankings because they dont like him. Thee are even fans that have a belief that about the team, and when the team is doing good, they get annoyed, so they wait and hope that the team fails so that they can come out as being right.

Being right for some matters more than our team winning. Or a particular Pakistani player failing means more than the team winning as well.

Now India are our rivals. Most Indians dont like Pakistan and blame them for terrorism that their own security forces fail to control. They discriminate against Pakistani nationals when it comes to IPL hiring, and would blindly defend their govts or nations narrative on any point of discussion due to blind nationalism.

The point that Waseem Akram made falls on to Pakistani fans that have hate for their country, for players or just want to be right. So for a few fans what I have noticed is that, just to be right, they will side with Indians or there players. Basically how Waseem says, if I want to win the world cup, meh ghdday ko bhi baap bana lo ga, same analogy applies on some Pakistani fans as well.

For many of us fans, its not only the message but from whom the message comes from also matters a lot. So for example, if Harsha Bhogle, a very neutral cricket commentator makes a comment, we listen. But if Gautam makes a comment on Pakistan cricket, no matter what, many of us wont listen as we know how much Gautam hates Pakistan due to past interviews we have seen. Thus, the persons credibility matters alot.

Few instances where I saw Pakistani fans and players kissing up to Indian fans and players just to be right:

-Gautam Gambhir insulting our captain, we saw fans who hate Babar Azam saying Gautti is spot on.

-Rizwan winning ICC trophies and being ranked no.1. We saw fans who had issue with the ranking system, but when the same ranking system placed an Indian player as no.1, than the fans had no issue with the legitimacy, even though the system of assigning ranking points never changed, it was the same. Only issue was that because the system had a player that was hated by a few fans as no.1.

-Pakistani players praising and kissing up to Indian player's. There are Pakistani players that wished Kohli Happy Birthday, but couldn't do the same for Babar Azam. Not that it matters, but you have someone like Sehwag who openly insulted these ex cricketers by saying that they kiss up to us because of the money.

-Some Pakistani fans having no issue with violation of rules and laws of the game, if someone points it out in any game, these fans will insult Pakistan even though Pakistan is not being discussed.

-Some Pakistani fans would even call our performance a fluke. Had Pakistan played like India did in this WC, than some of them would had said Pakistan doesnt deserve to be in the semis, but because India played like that is alright. England lost to Ireland, yet you dont see comments that they shouldn't be competing for semis.

- Some Pakistani fans are happy that we did bad in this WC, because it proves them as right that this team isn't good.

- Some fans and players like Wahab Riaz said that Pakistan should just quit for relying on others. What they forget is in 1992 and in most ICC tournaments we do like this. When Wahab was in the 2016 team, we did terribly bad.


Even I dont like Babar's captaincy. Even I have had issue with how a player bats sometimes, but I would never side another nation and diss on my own players just to be right. That's just wrong. A country that openly discriminates you on the basis of being Pakistani you cant play IPL is an insult enough.

I have seen Indian fans on social media create topics on purpose where they know that Pakistani fans will throw insults and the Indian fans enjoy is just for trolling purposes. I wonder if these Pakistani fans are even able to see that some third person is creating such topics and you are giving them amusement by self abusing.

Anyways, after seeing a few of our fans, how they hate Pakistan and its players and would kiss up to Indians just for the sake of being right, I have really lost some interest in the country's team. There is just too much hate and siding with a nation that openly insults you and discriminates you is alright for some.

Maybe its not the Pakistani team that needs to be fixed, but its the fans and a few ex cricketers that need to look in the mirror. No nation can stand up and do well when its own people dont respect it and side with those that hate it.

 

[Rana]

Waseem Akram made a very interesting point that when you want to achieve something, insaan gaddhay ko be apna baap bana sakta hai.

Interestingly, I have seen this trend amongst Pakistani fans. There are Pakistani fans that want Pakistan to fail in an ICC tournament because there favorite player wasn't picked, or Pakistani fans that want a particular player to fail or be removed from the rankings because they dont like him. Thee are even fans that have a belief that about the team, and when the team is doing good, they get annoyed, so they wait and hope that the team fails so that they can come out as being right.

Being right for some matters more than our team winning. Or a particular Pakistani player failing means more than the team winning as well.

Now India are our rivals. Most Indians dont like Pakistan and blame them for terrorism that their own security forces fail to control. They discriminate against Pakistani nationals when it comes to IPL hiring, and would blindly defend their govts or nations narrative on any point of discussion due to blind nationalism.

The point that Waseem Akram made falls on to Pakistani fans that have hate for their country, for players or just want to be right. So for a few fans what I have noticed is that, just to be right, they will side with Indians or there players. Basically how Waseem says, if I want to win the world cup, meh ghdday ko bhi baap bana lo ga, same analogy applies on some Pakistani fans as well.

For many of us fans, its not only the message but from whom the message comes from also matters a lot. So for example, if Harsha Bhogle, a very neutral cricket commentator makes a comment, we listen. But if Gautam makes a comment on Pakistan cricket, no matter what, many of us wont listen as we know how much Gautam hates Pakistan due to past interviews we have seen. Thus, the persons credibility matters alot.

Few instances where I saw Pakistani fans and players kissing up to Indian fans and players just to be right:

-Gautam Gambhir insulting our captain, we saw fans who hate Babar Azam saying Gautti is spot on.

-Rizwan winning ICC trophies and being ranked no.1. We saw fans who had issue with the ranking system, but when the same ranking system placed an Indian player as no.1, than the fans had no issue with the legitimacy, even though the system of assigning ranking points never changed, it was the same. Only issue was that because the system had a player that was hated by a few fans as no.1.

-Pakistani players praising and kissing up to Indian player's. There are Pakistani players that wished Kohli Happy Birthday, but couldn't do the same for Babar Azam. Not that it matters, but you have someone like Sehwag who openly insulted these ex cricketers by saying that they kiss up to us because of the money.

-Some Pakistani fans having no issue with violation of rules and laws of the game, if someone points it out in any game, these fans will insult Pakistan even though Pakistan is not being discussed.

-Some Pakistani fans would even call our performance a fluke. Had Pakistan played like India did in this WC, than some of them would had said Pakistan doesnt deserve to be in the semis, but because India played like that is alright. England lost to Ireland, yet you dont see comments that they shouldn't be competing for semis.

- Some Pakistani fans are happy that we did bad in this WC, because it proves them as right that this team isn't good.

- Some fans and players like Wahab Riaz said that Pakistan should just quit for relying on others. What they forget is in 1992 and in most ICC tournaments we do like this. When Wahab was in the 2016 team, we did terribly bad.


Even I dont like Babar's captaincy. Even I have had issue with how a player bats sometimes, but I would never side another nation and diss on my own players just to be right. That's just wrong. A country that openly discriminates you on the basis of being Pakistani you cant play IPL is an insult enough.

I have seen Indian fans on social media create topics on purpose where they know that Pakistani fans will throw insults and the Indian fans enjoy is just for trolling purposes. I wonder if these Pakistani fans are even able to see that some third person is creating such topics and you are giving them amusement by self abusing.

Anyways, after seeing a few of our fans, how they hate Pakistan and its players and would kiss up to Indians just for the sake of being right, I have really lost some interest in the country's team. There is just too much hate and siding with a nation that openly insults you and discriminates you is alright for some.

Maybe its not the Pakistani team that needs to be fixed, but its the fans and a few ex cricketers that need to look in the mirror. No nation can stand up and do well when its own people dont respect it and side with those that hate it.

This is the storm that I predicted will arrive.

Those fans who want to be ‘proven right’, have nothing to gain by being proven right. They won’t replace the coaches/captains

 

[zulfiqar]

I follow all T20 and ODI world cups pretty religiously and supporting Pakistan is always fun! Haven't lost interest in limited overs format at all!

I also enjoy test cricket, just that I follow it in the news more so than watching it because I have never been able to prioritize watching tests pretty much at any phase of my life. Last time I watched full tests was 2004-2006 (included 2x india series, England series, ashes).

So from a LOI perspective, I'm not too bothered that we have only one major trophy in the last decade (ICCT 2017). We've regularly made knockouts in T20 and in WC we've gone in with weaker teams but competed admirably.

 

[PakLFC]

Would have lost interest if Pak were half decent at any other major sport. That not being the case I will always be a Pak cricket fan as it's the only time we get to cheer on the country. Although it's not easy supporting our seesaw team Cricket is in our blood through our parents and forefathers. As frustrating as it can be i don't see it changing any time soon. As for the poor performances we live in hope...we are not the best neither the worst team around.

 

[zulfiqar]

If you compare to watching Niners.. the last time we won a superbowl was in the 90s.. and I regularly attend niner games (including the gut wrenching NFC loss to Rams earlier in the year). Still, niners much like Pakistan, always have a proud history to fall back on, and more importantly, they compete in more than 50% of seasons.

 

[dildilpak]

I am still interested in cricket but I just find it hard to cheer for the team with any real enthusiasm. For the longest time the most frustrating thing about Pakistan cricket has been this senior culture, the experienced oldies are allowed to fail for 3-4 years because half a decade ago they were actually good, if they do get replaced they are replaced by other "experienced" failures because we need experience for some reason, even if it doesn't provide any performances on the field. New guys on the other hand are lucky to get a series or two. This culture has not gone away but only gotten more frustrating to deal with because at the moment the sainted seniors are the most incompetent I have ever seen. The current management inspires the least confidence in addressing this issue simply because I don't think they see it as an issue. Bringing back Imran Khan, Sohail Khan, Fawad Alam at this stage of his career, making a failing and aging Azhar Ali captain. Later start screaming that there is no replacement, which is a play I have seen for years in Pak cricket: don't train a good potential replacement and then use the excuse that isn't one available. One can only hope that public pressure would knock some sense into them. The Inzi and Micky combo had far better vision in terms of team building and they weren't great by any means.

I don’t agree with everything here, but gotta admire the heartfelt and sincere write up.

 

[dildilpak]

I was actually referring to the message from Major.

 

[pillionrider]

-Some Pakistani fans would even call our performance a fluke. Had Pakistan played like India did in this WC, than some of them would had said Pakistan doesnt deserve to be in the semis, but because India played like that is alright. England lost to Ireland, yet you dont see comments that they shouldn't be competing for semis.

Yesterday, while Liton was going, I felt India would eventually win because this has been the pattern in recent Ind-Ban games. A top order B'desh batsman beats up our bowlers, before a collapse happens. The rain-break just added the odds to our side as the Indian team had an opportunity to sit together and laugh and chill.

You need to remember that this WC has mostly had great close games and there is always a twist waiting round the corner of most games. T20 allows for that.

The Ind-Pak game was one of the greatest matches I have ever watched.

India is not a great team and probably won't win the WC, though a little bit of luck and one-man performances can help us luck it. There are better teams on paper than us.

But are we a Top-4 side? Even with Bumrah and Pant missing, I'd say Yes. So there is nothing about the way we've played that doesn't make us deserving of a semi-final spot.

Regarding England - I don't see a single England supporter crying about other teams not playing hard enough, the ICC, umpiring or worst of all - talking with a sense of entitlement that they have the RIGHT to be in the semis and it's the duty of every other team in their group in play in a way that ensures this.

I mean, WTH

Even I dont like Babar's captaincy. Even I have had issue with how a player bats sometimes, but I would never side another nation and diss on my own players just to be right. That's just wrong.

Weren't you supporting Afghanistan recently in a way that irritated other Pakistanis here?

 

[Major]

Yesterday, while Liton was going, I felt India would eventually win because this has been the pattern in recent Ind-Ban games. A top order B'desh batsman beats up our bowlers, before a collapse happens. The rain-break just added the odds to our side as the Indian team had an opportunity to sit together and laugh and chill.

You need to remember that this WC has mostly had great close games and there is always a twist waiting round the corner of most games. T20 allows for that.

The Ind-Pak game was one of the greatest matches I have ever watched.

India is not a great team and probably won't win the WC, though a little bit of luck and one-man performances can help us luck it. There are better teams on paper than us.

But are we a Top-4 side? Even with Bumrah and Pant missing, I'd say Yes. So there is nothing about the way we've played that doesn't make us deserving of a semi-final spot.

Regarding England - I don't see a single England supporter crying about other teams not playing hard enough, the ICC, umpiring or worst of all - talking with a sense of entitlement that they have the RIGHT to be in the semis and it's the duty of every other team in their group in play in a way that ensures this.

I mean, WTH


Weren't you supporting Afghanistan recently in a way that irritated other Pakistanis here?

Was i dissing my own players just to be right? It seems that you couldn't comprehend what I wrote even what you quoted above you couldn't make sense.

Anyways my post was for pakistani fans, nothing to do with India trying hard or anything so don't really know why you took it up

 

[pillionrider]

Was i dissing my own players just to be right? It seems that you couldn't comprehend what I wrote even what you quoted above you couldn't make sense.

Anyways my post was for pakistani fans, nothing to do with India trying hard or anything so don't really know why you took it up

Well you dragged India and England into this post meant for Pakistani fans

You were dissing your national team in the game vs Afghanistan

 

[Kriketer]

Cricket in general is a dying sport. You can see the attendance in Australia, South Africa and West Indies which had a huge fan base and its been depleting for a decade now. Teams like West Indies and Zimbabwe are almost gone, neither any new teams have had any greater impact, only exception is Afghanistan that too usually is a minnow against big teams.

Much criticism lies with ICC going full on corrupt and letting the big three with money run the show. They haven't marketed the game and everything is now looked from a financial perspective, e.g no free highlights on social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook... how do you build interest when you commercialise everything and people can't even watch the game easily? I guess India got half the world so it doesn't matter as long as they have the cricket craze and bring in the maula, such rubbish way to slowly kill the game.

 

[SamNJ]

Would like to know how much was the craze for Hockey in Pakistan in mid 70s to early 90s.
That Pakistani Hockey team was world beater and had so many players who are up amongst the best of all time.
Also they lived upto expectations with many world championship wins and Olympic medals unlike Cricket in 90s which couldn't win another world cup despite all the talent.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

I'd be surprised if there is any real interest in Test cricket outside of forums like these.

Pakistan hasn't be a consistently competent Test side post the 1999 World Cup. If you look at the W/L of top 8 Test sides when they play each other in this period, theirvis a clear difference between the top 4 - IND/Oz/SA/ENG and the rest.

PAK have been on par with NZ and SL and above only Windies.

LOI cricket will have strong interest thanks to PSL.

 

[LegendAli]

Cricket in general is a dying sport. You can see the attendance in Australia, South Africa and West Indies which had a huge fan base and its been depleting for a decade now. Teams like West Indies and Zimbabwe are almost gone, neither any new teams have had any greater impact, only exception is Afghanistan that too usually is a minnow against big teams.

Much criticism lies with ICC going full on corrupt and letting the big three with money run the show. They haven't marketed the game and everything is now looked from a financial perspective, e.g no free highlights on social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook... how do you build interest when you commercialise everything and people can't even watch the game easily? I guess India got half the world so it doesn't matter as long as they have the cricket craze and bring in the maula, such rubbish way to slowly kill the game.

All the Aussie and English leagues regularly have massive attendance, not sure what attendance you've been watching.

I didn't even bring up the Indian league attendance yet, FYI this post was only about cricket league attendance, I can move onto International if you want..

 

[SaadAliG]

Losing interest hasn't been because of Pakistan. I'm losing interest because of the batting-friendly nature of the game for the past 15 years. Small boundaries have destroyed the game for me more than anything else.

 

[GreenBee]

Cricket in general is a dying sport. You can see the attendance in Australia, South Africa and West Indies which had a huge fan base and its been depleting for a decade now. Teams like West Indies and Zimbabwe are almost gone, neither any new teams have had any greater impact, only exception is Afghanistan that too usually is a minnow against big teams.

Much criticism lies with ICC going full on corrupt and letting the big three with money run the show. They haven't marketed the game and everything is now looked from a financial perspective, e.g no free highlights on social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook... how do you build interest when you commercialise everything and people can't even watch the game easily? I guess India got half the world so it doesn't matter as long as they have the cricket craze and bring in the maula, such rubbish way to slowly kill the game.

Quite the opposite in every way. Cricket is a dying sport as you knew it, but by all quantifiable metrics, it's growing way more than ever before.

Even as a Cricket purist, I must admit that Test Cricket has actually been revived from the dead last decade. From a fan perspective, if your team is good enough, there are some very good reasons to continue loving Cricket.

 

[Hitman]

3 years down the line, what do Pakistani fans say now?