Pakistan is a mid-table team in all formats- and will be for the next decade at least.

[MMHS]

I think people, including you [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION], are reading too much into the the last decade. It was born out of Pakistan losing its 3 best cricketers to match fixing, wholesale ban on cricket in Pakistan, bombings and destruction at home, unstable political situation, zero cricket at home for the entire decade and no patronage to any sport at any level, including cricket.

On top of that the board was bankrupt.

Pakistan played all its games away from home last decade. Imagine living out of a suitcase, away from family and loved one's, all your corporate career!

Yet, they managed to win an ICC tournament and reached no 1 in test and T20 rankings. This included beating elite teams home and way. They unearthed good talent in Babar, Shaheen and Rizwan to have foundations of a new team. They have a better domestic system in place and a positive revenue stream in PSL to set them up for the next decade.

I find it disingenuous people analyzing Pakistan cricket without giving them an ounce of credit on how they managed to stay alive, let alone keep cricket going, and with some stunning results, victories and records. I have respect for you and your analysis so am taking the time to put my viewpoint forward.

I for one am supremely confident, with some basic planning and some luck, the 20's will be a good decade for Pakistan.

Cricket is played in very few countries, of which half of them are the worst sporting nations in world and in other half it’s a dying sports - therefore even without doing anything PAK will remain among too 10 sides forever. It’s not like field hockey that from Germany, Holland, Spain, Australia, NZ.... suddenly Belgium has emerged and by next few years Canada, France, Argentina, Poland ... will comfortably cross PAK.

In that regard, you are actually giving too much credit to PAK cricket & PCB for last decade. If I compare what SAF went through for 20 years and still the way they came back - PCB has done quite a loose job to be honest.

The issue & I repeat the deepest nail stuck in PAK’s cricket coffin was when PCA forced English Counties not to hire foreigners in bulk sometimes around 1998 - result was that the two countries/team that benefited from there went into a massive & steady decline - West Indies & Pakistan.

This is where PAK & PCB needs to focus - basic planning and luck won’t help much. In last 20 years among the players debuted, only one guy will make PAK’s All Time squad of 20, may be you could have added Asif & Hafeez as well (I won’t, Yasir & Ajmal won’t make it either over AQadir & Saq) - that’s 1 from 20 years (still Babar won’t start in Test or ODI yet) out of 70 - even first 20 years of the journey will have Hanif, Fazal, Mushtaqe & Mazid, may be Asif Iqbal as well & technically Zaheer debuted in that first 20 years - it didn’t happen over night or over the last 10 years only. That is a telling figure to be scared about, if you think it without an optimist eye.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Cricket is played in very few countries, of which half of them are the worst sporting nations in world and in other half it’s a dying sports - therefore even without doing anything PAK will remain among too 10 sides forever. It’s not like field hockey that from Germany, Holland, Spain, Australia, NZ.... suddenly Belgium has emerged and by next few years Canada, France, Argentina, Poland ... will comfortably cross PAK.

In that regard, you are actually giving too much credit to PAK cricket & PCB for last decade. If I compare what SAF went through for 20 years and still the way they came back - PCB has done quite a loose job to be honest.

The issue & I repeat the deepest nail stuck in PAK’s cricket coffin was when PCA forced English Counties not to hire foreigners in bulk sometimes around 1998 - result was that the two countries/team that benefited from there went into a massive & steady decline - West Indies & Pakistan.

This is where PAK & PCB needs to focus - basic planning and luck won’t help much. In last 20 years among the players debuted, only one guy will make PAK’s All Time squad of 20, may be you could have added Asif & Hafeez as well (I won’t, Yasir & Ajmal won’t make it either over AQadir & Saq) - that’s 1 from 20 years (still Babar won’t start in Test or ODI yet) out of 70 - even first 20 years of the journey will have Hanif, Fazal, Mushtaqe & Mazid, may be Asif Iqbal as well & technically Zaheer debuted in that first 20 years - it didn’t happen over night or over the last 10 years only. That is a telling figure to be scared about, if you think it without an optimist eye.

Thank you. I have many arguments for my optimism, a lot to do with the country as a whole, but I am going to hold off.

The proof has to come from performances on the field, so I'd wait another couple of years before bumping this thread.