Pakistan needs to play more Test cricket

[mominsaigol]

Australia play 12 test matches this year. 1 vs India in BGT, 2 vs Sri lanka, 1 wtc final, 3 vs Wi and 5 vs Eng.

India and England are scheduled for a 5 match test series.

Pakistan just doesn't play enough test cricket or they simply don't take it seriously enough and curate doctored pitches.

While t20 cricket is a game where hacks can flourish, you always need atleast 2 to 3 compact players in your squad regardless of the format.

While t20 specialists like SKY, Sanju Sampson, Finn Allen exist, teams like India will eventually rely on Jaiswal for the near future. And the likes of Samju Sampson still play FC cricket(65 fc games) which explains why he's a proper t20 talent and not just a hack for the sake of it.

The 4 best t20 players of all time Virat kohli, Chris Gayle, KP and David Warner were all techincally solid and compact batters. And weren't just hacks.

I'm not saying you start playing test only specialists in t20 cricket. The likes of Steve smith, Joe root, kane Williamson in t20 cricket was always going to be a disaster,

However your t20 players need to participate in test cricket and so do you t20 bowlers.

Test is the format where your techincal flaws get exposed but it is also the format where batters have to work and iron out those issues and hence get better at it.

Similarly bowlers improve by learning how to bowl accurate test match line and lengths. McGrath and Bumrah are living examples of succeeding in whiteball cricket by still bowling classic test match line and lengths and occasionally going for yorkers or fuller lengths.

Lastly test cricket improves stamina and fitness levels. Atm it seems shaheen is struggling to even bowl 4 overs.

To put it into perspective these are the no of players in India's current t20 lineup who have played fc cricket and these are the players in Pakistan's lineup who have played an equivalent amount

India current t20 set up

1) Sanju Sampson: 65 FC Games
2) Abhishek Sharma: 24 FC games
3) SKY: 86 FC games
4) Tilak Varma: 18 FC games where he avg 50 so far
5) Pandya: 29 FC games
6) Washington sundar: 36 FC Games
7) Axar Patel: 56 FC games
8) Jurel: 22 FC games
9) Shami: 89 FC games
10) Bishnoi: 9 Fc games
11) Chakaravarthy: 1 Fc game( still a newbie)
12) Jaiswal: 36 FC games
13) Bumrah: 73 FC Games
14) Rinku Singh: 50 FC Games
15) Dube: 25 FC Games
16) Arshdeep Singh: 21 FC Games
17) Shubman Gill: 61 FC games
18) Kuldeep: 43 FC Games
19) Chahal: 41 FC Games
20) Siraj: 77 FC Games
21) Jadeja: 137 FC games
22) Reddy: 21 FC Games

Now compare that to pakistan current setup

Pakistan current t20 set up

1) Hasan Nawaz: 11 FC games
2) Muhammad Haris: 13 FC games
3) Salman Ali Agha: 100 FC Games
4) Omair bin Yousaf: 55 FC Games
5) Usman Khan: 3 Fc games
6) Abdul Samad: 13 FC games
7) Shadab Khan: 27 FC Games
8) Jahandad Khan: 6 FC games
9) Haris Rauf: 11 Fc Games (explains why he's a spray gun excluding aussie conditons)
10) Sufiyan: 0 Fc games
11) Muhammad Ali: 48 FC games
12) Irfan Khan Niazi: 17 FC games
13) Khushdil shah: 37 FC games
14) Shaheen Shah Afrid: 40 FC Games
15) Abrar Ahmed: 27 FC games
16) Babar Azam: 96 FC Games
17) Muhammad Rizwan: 124 FC Games
18) Saim Ayub: 23 FC Games
19) Fakhar Zaman: 53 FC Games
20) Tayyab Tahir: 64 FC Games
21) Abass Afridi: 9 Fc games
22) Hasebullah Khan: 24 FC Games

The Avg amount of games Indian players have played (current setup) are 46 FC games while Pakistan sits at 36 FC games with the main fc players like fakhar, and tayyab not even a part of the squad.

The best batsmen of this series for pakistan was Agha and you can tell since he's played 100 fc games and has clearly honed his technical skills and is the only batsmen who doesn't give off the vibe of being a total hack.

 

[mominsaigol]

Also please keep in mind I'm not advocating for Babar and rizwan returning.

I'm not saying Fc players should play t20 cricket . I'm saying our t20 cricketers should atleast be exposed to test cricket and iron out their techniques.

The likes of sam konstas will only improve in t20 if he plays more test cricket which is what Australia is trying to do, however someone like Nathan Mcsweeney will never transition into t20 cricket because he lacks the hunger and firepower to play t20.

 

[deltexas]

Disagree. Tests are dying everywhere incl Pak. No market in Pak as seen by the empty stadiums. Test are only sustainable going forward in Ind Eng Aus. All other nations should quit tests. A tests series entail losses except for the Big3. And players dont like playing tests when theres more money in T20s. Plus viewership demand is more for T20s. Even in Ind - tests are losing popularity. Its just that even if a small % of Ind pop watch tests - thats still a big number. Pak should focus on becoming a strong T20 team.

 

[sweep_shot]

All other nations should quit tests.

Spoken like a typical Indian.

Cricket is cricket due to Test. Without Test, cricket becomes an alien sport.

 

[deltexas]

Spoken like a typical Indian.

Cricket is cricket due to Test. Without Test, cricket becomes an alien sport.

FYI, I am American not Indian. Also, thats the financial reality. What you like or I like doesnt matter. If its not financially viable, then I dont think you are paying the bills I guess. t20s pay the bills and are the future. And I personally like tests . But tests with some of the weaker nations are so one sided, so boring - there is no market for them.

 

[mominsaigol]

Disagree. Tests are dying everywhere incl Pak. No market in Pak as seen by the empty stadiums. Test are only sustainable going forward in Ind Eng Aus. All other nations should quit tests. A tests series entail losses except for the Big3. And players dont like playing tests when theres more money in T20s. Plus viewership demand is more for T20s. Even in Ind - tests are losing popularity. Its just that even if a small % of Ind pop watch tests - thats still a big number. Pak should focus on becoming a strong T20 team.

You're speaking from a financial perspective. And tests will continue to remain profitable as long as WTC exists.

The whole reason wtc came into existence was to prevent test cricket from dying outside the big 3.

Test cricket being at a loss isn't an issue when icc pays the boards per year. Pakistan is the 4th richest board lol.

Money isn't an issue, the issue was who would finance ICC itself and bcci got that covered via IPL, pfcourse that gives bcci the biggest bargaining power as well and the right to influence decison making however test cricket itself is fine

The main issue isn't test cricket since advertisers can run ads all day and icc can afford to pay yearly.

The issue is odi cricket which is dying a painful death.

Anyway finance isn't the main purpose of this thread, the main purpose is cricketing development.

A test specialist will never develop into a t20 player but a t20 player becomes a better player if he plays test cricket.

Warner was bang average in test cricket however test still allowed him to become a better t20 cricketer since he became a monster at home den + developed that backwards scoop shot which he spams 24/7 in t20 and odi cricket.

I've seen warmer from 2010 and Warner from 2019, Warner from 2010 is not as good as prime 2015-2019 Warner.

 

[saimayubera]

Test cricket tbh has gone the way of the vinyl or DVD.

There is a niche market for them but only amongst those who can afford them.

The big 3 plus SA, NZ will have decent test outfits bankrolled by the other stuff but Pak I see going the WI way (if they already haven't) as in kids more interested in T20s and leagues than tests.

There was a Pak podcast which actually expounded on this. There really isn't a claim to fame in Pak via test cricket. Pak don't even play India in tests so that's another way gone where a young player can make fame. To achieve a certain level of acclaim in tests would require 5-6 years of consistent performance and even that will not be equal to the fame you can have in the space of one innings against India in a ICC tournament.

Azhar Ali is a no name even though he had a solid 10-12 years test career compared to Shaheen who became a superstar due to a few overs in 2021 or Shadab/Fakhar due to CT 17. None of these guys have any test achievements (Shadab, Fakhar have hardly played).

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Disagree. Tests are dying everywhere incl Pak. No market in Pak as seen by the empty stadiums. Test are only sustainable going forward in Ind Eng Aus. All other nations should quit tests. A tests series entail losses except for the Big3. And players dont like playing tests when theres more money in T20s. Plus viewership demand is more for T20s. Even in Ind - tests are losing popularity. Its just that even if a small % of Ind pop watch tests - thats still a big number. Pak should focus on becoming a strong T20 team.

I agree with you. It's sad but it's reality.

 

[mominsaigol]

I agree with you. It's sad but it's reality.

Bhai Pakistan literally played more tests then Aus in the 2024-2025 pre wtc cycle period.

And upcoming players like Azan awais, mohsin riaz are more interested in fc cricket then List A .

I agree that t20 cricket is the most popular but their is a passionate base for fc cricket amoung Pakistani talent.

Just cause viewership is decreasing doesn't mean that the players themsleves don't wish to play it.

The main issue is pace talent. Pakistani fc grounds are all roads and hence pacers don't want to bowl on such tracks which is why the likes of shaheen, naseem, Rauf just don't have the stamina to bowl even 10 overs.

All of this can be fixed if pakistan decides to curate good pitches. Our pitches are horrible compared to the ones available in Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, India and even pitches in Colombo and the rest of Sri Lanka are better then our pitches

Caribbean pitches are better as well.

 

[jamie smith fan]

Bhai Pakistan literally played more tests then Aus in the 2024-2025 pre wtc cycle period.

And upcoming players like Azan awais, mohsin riaz are more interested in fc cricket then List A .

I agree that t20 cricket is the most popular but their is a passionate base for fc cricket amoung Pakistani talent.

Just cause viewership is decreasing doesn't mean that the players themsleves don't wish to play it.

The main issue is pace talent. Pakistani fc grounds are all roads and hence pacers don't want to bowl on such tracks which is why the likes of shaheen, naseem, Rauf just don't have the stamina to bowl even 10 overs.

All of this can be fixed if pakistan decides to curate good pitches. Our pitches are horrible compared to the ones available in Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, India and even pitches in Colombo and the rest of Sri Lanka are better then our pitches

Caribbean pitches are better as well.

Disagree with the pitch part.
The pitches in fc are very conductive for pacers for example musa khan averaged 9.2 in QET. Those fc wickets are underprepared and a nightmare for batters.Apart from extra bounce pace and movement is available on these surfaces.Its just mind blogging why pak dishes out phattas wickets in international tests and green mambas in fc.

 

[mominsaigol]

Disagree with the pitch part.
The pitches in fc are very conductive for pacers for example musa khan averaged 9.2 in QET. Those fc wickets are underprepared and a nightmare for batters.Apart from extra bounce pace and movement is available on these surfaces.Its just mind blogging why pak dishes out phattas wickets in international tests and green mambas in fc.

Oh ic, I didn't know that.

Either way that's still wrong. Unprepared pitches from Bradman era or doctored pitches aren't the way to go.

England and NZ curate swinging pitches. Sa typically curates based of team strength, Australia usually doesn't curate since their pitches are naturally bouncy but even they curated the BGT Perth wicket because they badly underestimated India.

Pakistan need to learn how to curate proper pitches that suit their strength. Ideally they should curate swinging pitches so that their fast bowling stocks don't deplete.

People forget that one of the reasons wasim akram was so good was that he didnt just have skill. Shaheen from 2019, Junaid from 2012 and Amir from 2009/2017 all showed remnants of wasim akram in their bowling.

The reason akram was so good was due to his ability to bowl 20+ overs in a row with the same venom and accuracy. Odi bowling for 10 overs must have felt like a joke to him.

Whereas our current bowlers don't have the stamina to even bowl 4 overs properly. Shaheen's pace literally declines after bowling 2 overs?

Curating flat tracks or doctoring pitches is a joke. With doctoring it's all toss dependant, England series would have been 3-0 had England won the toss lol.

And with flat tracks, what's the point? Pakistan can't outdated anyone. Even historically Pakistan were at its best on pitches where their pacers could do magic.

Their batters were only expected to chase borderline 220 to 260 totals in that era. 270 to 290 meant a certified loss for Pakistan even at their absolute peak.

 

[mominsaigol]

Anyway off topic, I'm really looking forward to wtc, India vs England test series and Australia vs England ashes.

I'm getting sick and tired of t20 cricket now. I'm glad I watched all of pak vs NZ on highlights.

Not really looking forward to Wi vs Aus test but hey, atleast Steve smith can stat pad easily. I want smith to get back upto 57-58 Test Avg. Wi test bowling is just as poor as Sri lanka's. I don't see why smith can't score atleast 2 test centuries against them.

 

[jamie smith fan]

Anyway off topic, I'm really looking forward to wtc, India vs England test series and Australia vs England ashes.

I'm getting sick and tired of t20 cricket now. I'm glad I watched all of pak vs NZ on highlights.

Not really looking forward to Wi vs Aus test but hey, atleast Steve smith can stat pad easily. I want smith to get back upto 57-58 Test Avg. Wi test bowling is just as poor as Sri lanka's. I don't see why smith can't score atleast 2 test centuries against them.

TBF I am looking forward to the AUS vs WI test series.Carribeans are going to produce pacy and bouncy pitches in that series.
I dont think windies have a poor bowling lineup.alzarri,SEALES,shamar,roach,anderson,motie,sinclair are all good bowlers.
Overall I will rate their fast bowling trio 4th in the world after Aus,SA and Nz.

 

[mominsaigol]

TBF I am looking forward to the AUS vs WI test series.Carribeans are going to produce pacy and bouncy pitches in that series.
I dont think windies have a poor bowling lineup.alzarri,SEALES,shamar,roach,anderson,motie,sinclair are all good bowlers.
Overall I will rate their fast bowling trio 4th in the world after Aus,SA and Nz.

They finished 2nd last in wtc cycle though? Pakistan finished last?

They lost 8 out of their 13 test games?

They lost to India at home den? Would have lost the 2nd one had rain not intervened. Lost to Australia badly even though aussie test conditons are identical for pacers compared to carrebean conditons. They fluked that win in Brisbane, it was a stupid decison by Aus to declare and force a win in a rained off game.

Then England mauled them and they even managed to lose one game vs Bangladesh by 101 runs lol.

Seriously how did Pakistan and Wi lose to Bamgladesh? The entire Bangladesh test team relies of Liton das and rana lol .

The only team they would have destroyed is Pakistan if pakistan wasn't so cheap to curate such awful doctored pitches which are entirely toss dependant.

Hey maybe Pcb should beg bcci for one test series against India since Rohit keeps losing tosses .

 

[jamie smith fan]

They finished 2nd last in wtc cycle though? Pakistan finished last?

They lost 8 out of their 13 test games?

They lost to India at home den? Would have lost the 2nd one had rain not intervened. Lost to Australia badly even though aussie test conditons are identical for pacers compared to carrebean conditons. They fluked that win in Brisbane, it was a stupid decison by Aus to declare and force a win in a rained off game.

Then England mauled them and they even managed to lose one game vs Bangladesh by 101 runs lol.

Seriously how did Pakistan and Wi lose to Bamgladesh? The entire Bangladesh test team relies of Liton das and rana lol .

The only team they would have destroyed is Pakistan if pakistan wasn't so cheap to curate such awful doctored pitches which are entirely toss dependant.

Hey maybe Pcb should beg bcci for one test series against India since Rohit keeps losing tosses .

Their batting has always let them down.
Their bowlers are doing a fine job,they have conceded a total of 400+ only once since that India tour.

 

[mominsaigol]

Also one key metric that I wanted to add, Pakistan played the most number of test games in wtc 2023-2025 cycle after The big 3.

They played 14 test games only behind India and Australia tied at 19 and England who played the most at 22.

Their was absolutely no excuse to finish at the bottom, especially when the whole reason pcb orchestrated Bangladesh, Aus, Wi, SA, and England tours was to somehow manipulate their way into a wtc spot.

My guess is pcb didn't expect to win all test games since that's impossible, and they never expected to reach finals, but they probably atleast wanted to finish at 3 or 4 in the cycle.

But they ended up finishing at the bottom .

0-2 Sri Lanka
3-0 Aus
2-0 Bangladesh
1-2 England (Pcb cheated lol)
2-0 SA
1-1 WI (Their toss luck eventually ran out)

They didn't genuinely beat a single side during this cycle. With the exception of Sri Lanka.

 

[mominsaigol]

Their batting has always let them down.
Their bowlers are doing a fine job,they have conceded a total of 400+ only once since that India tour.

Australia via the current form of Steve smith is a better batting unit then India. Steve smith in full form is essentially the Bradman of this era and makes up 80% of aus batting team.

They don't have to worry too much about head, Khawaja and kontas, but they defo need to worry about Smith.

He single handedly turned the tides of BGT against India. He's been doing it vs Wngland in Ashes for years.

Ashes would have been alot closer if Smith didn't keep ruining everything.

I recall atleast 5 test games where Aus collapsed, Eng was winning yet Smith not only closed the gap but generated a lead for Australia and ensured victory

 

[AAli98]

Pakistan cannot play cricket anymore.. ICC needs to revoke there licence for at least 5 years.

 

[mominsaigol]

Pakistan cannot play cricket anymore.. ICC needs to revoke there licence for at least 5 years.

And if they do that, who will replace Pakistan? Cricket isn't football which has over dozens of teams lined up for replacements.

 

[rpant_gabba]

And if they do that, who will replace Pakistan? Cricket isn't football which has over dozens of teams lined up for replacements.

Gee, I wonder what might be the reason for that....

 

[mominsaigol]

Gee, I wonder what might be the reason for that....

Is India so bhooka that they can't support other teams? Put that 250M per year revenue to good use lol.

Why should Australia support lower nations and help India? Please explain? Why on earth should they help?

Infact Australia has never once helped anyone except for New Zealand. We stay out of America, Asia and Africa's interests.

We're a separate continent that will only support NZ and maybe PNG and a few other neighbouring Oceania states. Infact Australia has supported NZ more then any other neighbouring country in the world.

They have free rights to work in this country, their cricketers have free rights to play in our country without any issues, exports and import and money etc etc is shared, Even some revenue between NZ cricket board and CA is shared?

Why should we support someone that isn't in our continent?

Why don't you bother supporting your Asian buddies and bring them into cricket? What's stopping you?

 

[kron]

You're speaking from a financial perspective. And tests will continue to remain profitable as long as WTC exists.

The whole reason wtc came into existence was to prevent test cricket from dying outside the big 3.

Test cricket being at a loss isn't an issue when icc pays the boards per year. Pakistan is the 4th richest board lol.

Money isn't an issue, the issue was who would finance ICC itself and bcci got that covered via IPL, pfcourse that gives bcci the biggest bargaining power as well and the right to influence decison making however test cricket itself is fine

The main issue isn't test cricket since advertisers can run ads all day and icc can afford to pay yearly.

The issue is odi cricket which is dying a painful death.

Anyway finance isn't the main purpose of this thread, the main purpose is cricketing development.

A test specialist will never develop into a t20 player but a t20 player becomes a better player if he plays test cricket.

Warner was bang average in test cricket however test still allowed him to become a better t20 cricketer since he became a monster at home den + developed that backwards scoop shot which he spams 24/7 in t20 and odi cricket.

I've seen warmer from 2010 and Warner from 2019, Warner from 2010 is not as good as prime 2015-2019 Warner.

If test cricket dies I am quitting cricket for good

It’s not the same without test cricket

As for who is the most evil out of the big 3

Definitely England still followed by Aus and then India. All 3 are evil in their own way but worst is always the poms

Extremely corrupt by nature. Always conniving and they never helped anyone in 80s and 90s when they were in power

Pakistan would be no different, let’s be honest.

Aus did eff all as well and are on par with England in terms of their inability or unwillingness to promote the game back in 90s and pre 90s

 

[BouncerGuy]

WATCH YOUR POSTS NOW.... HAVE A LOOK AT THE TOPIC AND THEN POST NEXT

 

[BouncerGuy]

Just comeback to the real talk here... Pakistan is not playing much test cricket and it is not like they are dying to play...

 

[jamie smith fan]

Just comeback to the real talk here... Pakistan is not playing much test cricket and it is not like they are dying to play...

Most pak players arent really interested in playing tests, they are just there to fill the numbers.

 

[Katwalindian]

Most pak players arent really interested in playing tests, they are just there to fill the numbers.

Every team play six series in cycle, Pakistan to tour england in 2026 and 2028 for eight tests plus Aus for 4 tests.

 

[mominsaigol]

@jamie smith

Thank you for standing up for me and I apologise for the chaiwala comments in the past. Please forgive me for such crude remarks

 

[jamie smith fan]

Nvm I don't take anything to heart and don't mind a friendly banter here and there.

@jamie smith

Thank you for standing up for me and I apologise for the chaiwala comments in the past. Please forgive me for such crude remarks

 

[Rana]

Pakistan as a nation gives T20 cricket more prestige and importance than they do to Test cricket. The entire nation is lost when it comes to cricket understanding.

 

[Rana]

It’s easier to convince Babar and Rizwan to shift around in their positions in Test cricket than it is to convince them in T20 cricket lol

 

[Rana]

Management to Rizwan in Tests: Hi Rizwan, can you do number 7 for us? We can do with you at that position.

Rizwan: Yes sir, anything for the team and country!



Management to Rizwan in T20s: Hi Rizwan, can you do number 7 for us, we think you will be perfect here!

Rizwan no response, runs to the media: Do you know what the meaning of this is? Are you financially strong enough to afford world war 3?

 

[BouncerGuy]

Management to Rizwan in Tests: Hi Rizwan, can you do number 7 for us? We can do with you at that position.

Rizwan: Yes sir, anything for the team and country!



Management to Rizwan in T20s: Hi Rizwan, can you do number 7 for us, we think you will be perfect here!

Rizwan no response, runs to the media: Do you know what the meaning of this is? Are you financially strong enough to afford world war 3?

What does it have to do with Pakistan not playing more Test matches????

 

[emranabbas]

Better if Pakistan not play any cricket to save embarrassment

 

[jamie smith fan]

What does it have to do with Pakistan not playing more Test matches????

Absolutely nothing.
But according to his logic Rizwan is responsible for everything from gaza genocide to ww2 to Indian partition.
Lol

 

[mominsaigol]

What does it have to do with Pakistan not playing more Test matches????

Thread isn't about Pakistan not playing more test matches. We literally played the most no of test matches (14) outside of the big 3 this wtc cycle.

It's not possible to play more test matches then England. These guys schedule it 24/7 and gain more profit from it then aus.

Aus has to focus on England and India and hone test matches while England can even make profit by playing away test matches.

Thread is about why our youngsters who are only playing t20 cricket should play more test matches to iron out their technical flaws batting wise and improve their line + length and fitness bowling wise.

 

[mominsaigol]

Management to Rizwan in Tests: Hi Rizwan, can you do number 7 for us? We can do with you at that position.

Rizwan: Yes sir, anything for the team and country!



Management to Rizwan in T20s: Hi Rizwan, can you do number 7 for us, we think you will be perfect here!

Rizwan no response, runs to the media: Do you know what the meaning of this is? Are you financially strong enough to afford world war 3?

Rizwan and Babar lack direction, that's the issue.

The likes of Sam konstas wants to be an attacking cricketer. That's his nature, hence it's no surprise that he's killing it in Big bash league. He's playing test cricket for prestige + to iron out his technique.

While Steve smith is clearly not a t20 cricketer, but he doesn't want to be. He wants to be the greatest test batsmen of the modern era.

Rizwan and babar have no direction. Seriously what do they want to be? When I look at Hasan Nawaz, I can tell he wants to be an attacking cricketer hence I'm suggesting test cricket so that he may develop a better technique.

But what about ba/riz? Do they want to be test superstars? Odi superstars? T20 superstars? All format players?

Cause I don't think they themselves know what they want besides securing league contracts and making more money.

They clearly haven't adjusted their game for any format. For test cricket they don't have the technique, fitness or temperament, for odi and t20 cricket they don't have shots or attitude.

 

[mominsaigol]

One thing i will say is that upcoming Pakistani batters really need to learn from the likes of David Warner, Jos Butler, and many others on how to play whiteball cricket and from Steve smith on how to play test cricket.

Steve smith forces bowlers to bowl to his strength. You just can't fool him or Bait him to play on that 3rd offstump line or play silly shots when the spinner bowls from around the wicket. You have to bowl wicket to wicket to get him out or force him to mistime a stroke.

Babar keeps getting baited with spin and pace lol.

As for Warner and butler, these guys play unorthodox strokes to get a boundary when the ball isn't coming onto them.

 

[pakistani pride]

LOL lets start with playing FC cricket on actual pitches up to Int standard.

 

[mominsaigol]

LOL lets start with playing FC cricket on actual pitches up to Int standard.

+1, we need to fix the pitches first.

 

[jamie smith fan]

+1, we need to fix the pitches first.

+2 Lower the teams to 10 and make selections on merit.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

One thing I am really looking forward to is the 5 match test series between Pakistan and England likely to take place in England in 2028. Despite lack of commercialism I am not willing to give up on test cricket outside Big 3. And these kind of initiatives will do alot to boost test cricket. ECB should be commended on this decision, as well as their decision to play a 5 match test series with South Africa, also planned around the same time.

 

[Xoib]

One thing I am really looking forward to is the 5 match test series between Pakistan and England likely to take place in England in 2028. Despite lack of commercialism I am not willing to give up on test cricket outside Big 3. And these kind of initiatives will do alot to boost test cricket. ECB should be commended on this decision, as well as their decision to play a 5 match test series with South Africa, also planned around the same time.

lol which 5 tests series?

 

[jamie smith fan]

Same question also strikes my mind.
Why would eng play a 5 match test series against minnows like pak.

lol which 5 tests series?

 

[mominsaigol]

Same question also strikes my mind.
Why would eng play a 5 match test series against minnows like pak.

I can see a team doing this to get a spot in WTC.

The reason why Pakistan scheduled so many tests was to weasel their way into wtc.

They had won 2 tests vs Sri lanka hence they were off to a good start however Pakistan knew that Australia would be a drubbing.

Hence their plan was to getting 11 wins and 3 losses so they could reach the final of wtc. 11-3. They probably expected easy wins vs Bangladesh and West indies and thought they'd try their living best to maybe pull an arshad nadeed and win SA and England series.

At the very least they expected to atleast land at the 4th or 5th spot to save some face.

Pakistan badly underestimated these teams, they didn't expect Bangladesh to whitewash them, nor did they expect West Indies to beat them at their own game.

 

[Local.Dada]

I can see a team doing this to get a spot in WTC.

The reason why Pakistan scheduled so many tests was to weasel their way into wtc.

They had won 2 tests vs Sri lanka hence they were off to a good start however Pakistan knew that Australia would be a drubbing.

Hence their plan was to getting 11 wins and 3 losses so they could reach the final of wtc. 11-3. They probably expected easy wins vs Bangladesh and West indies and thought they'd try their living best to maybe pull an arshad nadeed and win SA and England series.

At the very least they expected to atleast land at the 4th or 5th spot to save some face.

Pakistan badly underestimated these teams, they didn't expect Bangladesh to whitewash them, nor did they expect West Indies to beat them at their own game.

you need to be a HTB to have a shot at qualifying for WTC.

India, Aus, Eng, Nzl, SA all have a method to run through teams at home and a good one off away series gives them a good chance to qualify for the WTC finals.They all suck away. Once in a while sure they might get caught off guard at home but more often that not these teams are unbeatable at home.

Pakistan has not figured out a method to win at home. Those industrial fans on a pitch is not a sustainable strategy.

 

[mominsaigol]

you need to be a HTB to have a shot at qualifying for WTC.

India, Aus, Eng, Nzl, SA all have a method to run through teams at home and a good one off away series gives them a good chance to qualify for the WTC finals.They all suck away. Once in a while sure they might get caught off guard at home but more often that not these teams are unbeatable at home.

Pakistan has not figured out a method to win at home. Those industrial fans on a pitch is not a sustainable strategy.

How is Eng, NZ and Sa unbeatable at home lol? Their good but not unbeatable.

That mantra applies to Australia and India only excluding one off outliers. Like the shocking NZ vs India series.

As for Pakistan, the reason they can't win at home is because their original strategy was to create roads not realising that their hopelessly outmatched against any team in test cricket from a batting perspective or a fitness perspective.

Against England their woefully outmatched. What were they thinking? Did they seriously think they'll out bat Brooks, root, Duckett and Jamie smith as batters?

Lastly they don't have stamina or fitness. The reason they kept collapsing after 4 or 5 days passed like they collapsed in a few hours on the 5th day vs Bangladesh and collapsed against England on day 4 was b2cause they don't have any stamina to bat long or bowl long.

Shan's 150 may have been impressive and so was Abdullah's performance but they both got out because they got tired in the heat and just gave their wicket away. They were huffing and puffing lol.

Meanwhile Brooks and.root never got tired once despite playing in the heat. They occasionally grabbed water and just kept murdering Pakistan. They had no intentions of stopping.

Same.goes for Bangladesh. After that 26/6 onslaught, Pakistani t20 pacers like shaheen and naseem.juat got tired lol amd started throwing 110 kph pies and Liton das had a field day.

After wards Pakistan batting collapsed caused the men in green.just couldn't bat after being out in the heat for so long.

Pakistan is a hot and arid country. Maybe next time try playing in winters and not summers lol.

 

[charlie007]

Same question also strikes my mind.
Why would eng play a 5 match test series against minnows like pak.

To get 5 wins and boost their chances of WTC finals qualification?

 

[mominsaigol]

Just comeback to the real talk here... Pakistan is not playing much test cricket and it is not like they are dying to play...

it is not like they are dying to play...

Then why did they play 14 tests during this cycle? More then any nations excluding England, India and Australia?

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

lol which 5 tests series?

Same question also strikes my mind.
Why would eng play a 5 match test series against minnows like pak.

England to play more five-Test series against South Africa and Pakistan

Exclusive: ECB believes longer series involving teams beyond the ‘big three’ will help to generate interest in the red-ball game

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[mominsaigol]

It's a shame Pakistan barely played any test cricket for a while though. This is their schedule

Oct 2025: 2 tests vs SA (Home)
March 2026: 2 tests vs Bangladesh (Away)
July 2026: 2 tests vs West Indies (Away)
August 2026: 3 tests vs England (Away)
Nov 2026: 2 tests vs Sri Lanka (home)
March 2027: 2 tests vs NZ (home)

That's 13 tests all played so sparingly? And this wtc cycle is essentially lost? We can't guarantee 6 wins at home as we won't win 6 tosses in a row?

England and wi are lost games 100%, we can't handle those conditons?

 

[Kianig89]

The Main reason of Pakistan cricket left behind is lack of Test cricket, PCB has no interest in Test crixket

 

[Savak]

Like I said Pakistan needs to play a minimum of 12-15 tests, 25-30 ODI's a year for the players to stay sharp in the premier formats of the game.

 

[Xoib]

Like I said Pakistan needs to play a minimum of 12-15 tests, 25-30 ODI's a year for the players to stay sharp in the premier formats of the game.

Who will run in and bowl 20 overs a day Chui mui Naseem or 1 over Eagle

 

[sweep_shot]

England to play more five-Test series against South Africa and Pakistan

Exclusive: ECB believes longer series involving teams beyond the ‘big three’ will help to generate interest in the red-ball game

www.telegraph.co.uk

Very noble thinking from ECB. They care about the game unlike a specific board.

 

[Savak]

Who will run in and bowl 20 overs a day Chui mui Naseem or 1 over Eagle

Pakistan Cricket does not end with these two players only.

 

[Greenstorm]

PCB has turned 3 ODI and 3 T20I series vs Bangladesh into 5 T20I series. They only think of short term money.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Australia play 12 test matches this year. 1 vs India in BGT, 2 vs Sri lanka, 1 wtc final, 3 vs Wi and 5 vs Eng.

India and England are scheduled for a 5 match test series.

Pakistan just doesn't play enough test cricket or they simply don't take it seriously enough and curate doctored pitches.

While t20 cricket is a game where hacks can flourish, you always need atleast 2 to 3 compact players in your squad regardless of the format.

While t20 specialists like SKY, Sanju Sampson, Finn Allen exist, teams like India will eventually rely on Jaiswal for the near future. And the likes of Samju Sampson still play FC cricket(65 fc games) which explains why he's a proper t20 talent and not just a hack for the sake of it.

The 4 best t20 players of all time Virat kohli, Chris Gayle, KP and David Warner were all techincally solid and compact batters. And weren't just hacks.

I'm not saying you start playing test only specialists in t20 cricket. The likes of Steve smith, Joe root, kane Williamson in t20 cricket was always going to be a disaster,

However your t20 players need to participate in test cricket and so do you t20 bowlers.

Test is the format where your techincal flaws get exposed but it is also the format where batters have to work and iron out those issues and hence get better at it.

Similarly bowlers improve by learning how to bowl accurate test match line and lengths. McGrath and Bumrah are living examples of succeeding in whiteball cricket by still bowling classic test match line and lengths and occasionally going for yorkers or fuller lengths.

Lastly test cricket improves stamina and fitness levels. Atm it seems shaheen is struggling to even bowl 4 overs.

To put it into perspective these are the no of players in India's current t20 lineup who have played fc cricket and these are the players in Pakistan's lineup who have played an equivalent amount

India current t20 set up

1) Sanju Sampson: 65 FC Games
2) Abhishek Sharma: 24 FC games
3) SKY: 86 FC games
4) Tilak Varma: 18 FC games where he avg 50 so far
5) Pandya: 29 FC games
6) Washington sundar: 36 FC Games
7) Axar Patel: 56 FC games
8) Jurel: 22 FC games
9) Shami: 89 FC games
10) Bishnoi: 9 Fc games
11) Chakaravarthy: 1 Fc game( still a newbie)
12) Jaiswal: 36 FC games
13) Bumrah: 73 FC Games
14) Rinku Singh: 50 FC Games
15) Dube: 25 FC Games
16) Arshdeep Singh: 21 FC Games
17) Shubman Gill: 61 FC games
18) Kuldeep: 43 FC Games
19) Chahal: 41 FC Games
20) Siraj: 77 FC Games
21) Jadeja: 137 FC games
22) Reddy: 21 FC Games

Now compare that to pakistan current setup

Pakistan current t20 set up

1) Hasan Nawaz: 11 FC games
2) Muhammad Haris: 13 FC games
3) Salman Ali Agha: 100 FC Games
4) Omair bin Yousaf: 55 FC Games
5) Usman Khan: 3 Fc games
6) Abdul Samad: 13 FC games
7) Shadab Khan: 27 FC Games
8) Jahandad Khan: 6 FC games
9) Haris Rauf: 11 Fc Games (explains why he's a spray gun excluding aussie conditons)
10) Sufiyan: 0 Fc games
11) Muhammad Ali: 48 FC games
12) Irfan Khan Niazi: 17 FC games
13) Khushdil shah: 37 FC games
14) Shaheen Shah Afrid: 40 FC Games
15) Abrar Ahmed: 27 FC games
16) Babar Azam: 96 FC Games
17) Muhammad Rizwan: 124 FC Games
18) Saim Ayub: 23 FC Games
19) Fakhar Zaman: 53 FC Games
20) Tayyab Tahir: 64 FC Games
21) Abass Afridi: 9 Fc games
22) Hasebullah Khan: 24 FC Games

The Avg amount of games Indian players have played (current setup) are 46 FC games while Pakistan sits at 36 FC games with the main fc players like fakhar, and tayyab not even a part of the squad.

The best batsmen of this series for pakistan was Agha and you can tell since he's played 100 fc games and has clearly honed his technical skills and is the only batsmen who doesn't give off the vibe of being a total hack.

Na PCB is gonna schedule very less tests because of money. They could generate money by playing tests with India but for that they need to bend over a lot of things politically.

 

[Greenstorm]

Pakistan should develop more grounds for test cricket. Clearly funds are not an issue when mentors like Malik are banking 50 lacs a month !

Sialkot is supposed to have a bouncy wicket. How hard is it to revamp that stadium ? Same goes for Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Bahawalpur, Hyderabad (all have hosted intl cricket before). New grounds can be developed in places like Mansehra, Abbottabad, Swat, Sukkhur and Gilgit. Just put up grass banks like they do in NZ/SA which don't need massive investment.

These places will be packed throughout 5 days of test match and will give more options in terms of character of wickets.

Unfortunately, PCB is a cash cow and nobody is interested in any long term development.

 

[Xoib]

Pakistan Cricket does not end with these two players only.

You and I know it but does PCB knows this or wants to know this as we keep going back to same garbage after every failure

 

[Bhaijaan]

There should be more first class matches between A teams.

 

[mominsaigol]

Unpopular opinion but I believe usman khan should be drafted for our test team. Just let him open with Saim.

This dude has a weird technique but he's surprisingly extremely effective in the first 10 overs of the game. He is usually able to lift and clear the inner ring.

I think test cricket will allow him to practise and get better. Would make him a better keeper as well long term.

 

[Master Blaster]

Test cricket in Pakistan is dead. Thanks to Rambo Raja for pitch padding for his stats padding batters.

ODI and T20 cricket is also outdated for Pak kind of play.

Pakistan should adopt and play more and more T10 cricket from now on.
Should start the first T10 league.

 

[Kianig89]

A strong performance leads to public interest in national team, with pathetic performances over the years , the fan base of Pakistan team is declining, take for example @Rana thus far lack of interest add to it the subjective nature of PCB is also not helping the cause

 

[Rana]

A strong performance leads to public interest in national team, with pathetic performances over the years , the fan base of Pakistan team is declining, take for example @Rana thus far lack of interest add to it the subjective nature of PCB is also not helping the cause

Take example of Samaa AI English here guys,

what exactly is this guy even trying to say?

 

[jamie smith fan]

Unpopular opinion but I believe usman khan should be drafted for our test team. Just let him open with Saim.

This dude has a weird technique but he's surprisingly extremely effective in the first 10 overs of the game. He is usually able to lift and clear the inner ring.

I think test cricket will allow him to practise and get better. Would make him a better keeper as well long term.

Bro will he even survive against the swinging ball??
He was lucky to score 39 today,on another day he would have been out under 10 runs.

 

[mominsaigol]

Bro will he even survive against the swinging ball??
He was lucky to score 39 today,on another day he would have been out under 10 runs.

Which is why he needs to play more test

 

[jamie smith fan]

He needs to prove himself in fc first.

Which is why he needs to play more test

 

[mominsaigol]

He needs to prove himself in fc first.

No harm in just trying him out. But sure FC first and then International. I'm fine with that

 

[jamie smith fan]

No harm in just trying him out. But sure FC first and then International. I'm fine with that

Azan Awais,Abdul Faseeh and Maaz sadaqat deserve a chance ahead of him
If they all fail then we can consider him.

 

[mominsaigol]

Azan Awais,Abdul Faseeh and Maaz sadaqat deserve a chance ahead of him
If they all fail then we can consider him.

The point was to put t20 players in test cricket so that they can iron out their techniques.

Fakhar is a gone case now. Even if he returns you can forget about him being effective granted even in his current state hes 100x the batter that babar and rizwan ever will be.

However azan awais is test only. He'll never make the transition to odi and t20.

Maaz is the real deal and I'd prefer him over usman khan due to age and technique but usman khan is a keeper and I want him to have a bit of a run at opening.

Abdul faseeh seems pretty solid though, a solid odi and test option for Pakistan in the future

 

[Kianig89]

Pakistan only play 5-6 home Tests with one overseas tour every year. Add to it the inconsistencies in selection has not let the team to progress.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Can Pakistan play its test class spinners in LOIs? Worth a try

 

[jamie smith fan]

Fakhar would have been a decent test player but clowns like misbah and azhar ruined his test career.

The point was to put t20 players in test cricket so that they can iron out their techniques.

Fakhar is a gone case now. Even if he returns you can forget about him being effective granted even in his current state hes 100x the batter that babar and rizwan ever will be.

However azan awais is test only. He'll never make the transition to odi and t20.

Maaz is the real deal and I'd prefer him over usman khan due to age and technique but usman khan is a keeper and I want him to have a bit of a run at opening.

Abdul faseeh seems pretty solid though, a solid odi and test option for Pakistan in the future

 

[jamie smith fan]

The point was to put t20 players in test cricket so that they can iron out their techniques.

Fakhar is a gone case now. Even if he returns you can forget about him being effective granted even in his current state hes 100x the batter that babar and rizwan ever will be.

However azan awais is test only. He'll never make the transition to odi and t20.

Maaz is the real deal and I'd prefer him over usman khan due to age and technique but usman khan is a keeper and I want him to have a bit of a run at opening.

Abdul faseeh seems pretty solid though, a solid odi and test option for Pakistan in the future

I think currently Saim and maaz are the only batters with all format potential in pak.
Others are just test specialists or hacks.

 

[topspin]

Unless you play India, test cricket is simply not profitable.

The way I see it test cricket will soon become obsolete. At best, it will just be contested by the Big 3.

 

[LordJames]

Australia play 12 test matches this year. 1 vs India in BGT, 2 vs Sri lanka, 1 wtc final, 3 vs Wi and 5 vs Eng.

India and England are scheduled for a 5 match test series.

Pakistan just doesn't play enough test cricket or they simply don't take it seriously enough and curate doctored pitches.

While t20 cricket is a game where hacks can flourish, you always need atleast 2 to 3 compact players in your squad regardless of the format.

While t20 specialists like SKY, Sanju Sampson, Finn Allen exist, teams like India will eventually rely on Jaiswal for the near future. And the likes of Samju Sampson still play FC cricket(65 fc games) which explains why he's a proper t20 talent and not just a hack for the sake of it.

The 4 best t20 players of all time Virat kohli, Chris Gayle, KP and David Warner were all techincally solid and compact batters. And weren't just hacks.

I'm not saying you start playing test only specialists in t20 cricket. The likes of Steve smith, Joe root, kane Williamson in t20 cricket was always going to be a disaster,

However your t20 players need to participate in test cricket and so do you t20 bowlers.

Test is the format where your techincal flaws get exposed but it is also the format where batters have to work and iron out those issues and hence get better at it.

Similarly bowlers improve by learning how to bowl accurate test match line and lengths. McGrath and Bumrah are living examples of succeeding in whiteball cricket by still bowling classic test match line and lengths and occasionally going for yorkers or fuller lengths.

Lastly test cricket improves stamina and fitness levels. Atm it seems shaheen is struggling to even bowl 4 overs.

To put it into perspective these are the no of players in India's current t20 lineup who have played fc cricket and these are the players in Pakistan's lineup who have played an equivalent amount

India current t20 set up

1) Sanju Sampson: 65 FC Games
2) Abhishek Sharma: 24 FC games
3) SKY: 86 FC games
4) Tilak Varma: 18 FC games where he avg 50 so far
5) Pandya: 29 FC games
6) Washington sundar: 36 FC Games
7) Axar Patel: 56 FC games
8) Jurel: 22 FC games
9) Shami: 89 FC games
10) Bishnoi: 9 Fc games
11) Chakaravarthy: 1 Fc game( still a newbie)
12) Jaiswal: 36 FC games
13) Bumrah: 73 FC Games
14) Rinku Singh: 50 FC Games
15) Dube: 25 FC Games
16) Arshdeep Singh: 21 FC Games
17) Shubman Gill: 61 FC games
18) Kuldeep: 43 FC Games
19) Chahal: 41 FC Games
20) Siraj: 77 FC Games
21) Jadeja: 137 FC games
22) Reddy: 21 FC Games

Now compare that to pakistan current setup

Pakistan current t20 set up

1) Hasan Nawaz: 11 FC games
2) Muhammad Haris: 13 FC games
3) Salman Ali Agha: 100 FC Games
4) Omair bin Yousaf: 55 FC Games
5) Usman Khan: 3 Fc games
6) Abdul Samad: 13 FC games
7) Shadab Khan: 27 FC Games
8) Jahandad Khan: 6 FC games
9) Haris Rauf: 11 Fc Games (explains why he's a spray gun excluding aussie conditons)
10) Sufiyan: 0 Fc games
11) Muhammad Ali: 48 FC games
12) Irfan Khan Niazi: 17 FC games
13) Khushdil shah: 37 FC games
14) Shaheen Shah Afrid: 40 FC Games
15) Abrar Ahmed: 27 FC games
16) Babar Azam: 96 FC Games
17) Muhammad Rizwan: 124 FC Games
18) Saim Ayub: 23 FC Games
19) Fakhar Zaman: 53 FC Games
20) Tayyab Tahir: 64 FC Games
21) Abass Afridi: 9 Fc games
22) Hasebullah Khan: 24 FC Games

The Avg amount of games Indian players have played (current setup) are 46 FC games while Pakistan sits at 36 FC games with the main fc players like fakhar, and tayyab not even a part of the squad.

The best batsmen of this series for pakistan was Agha and you can tell since he's played 100 fc games and has clearly honed his technical skills and is the only batsmen who doesn't give off the vibe of being a total hack.

While Pakistan is not playing enough test matches (agreed), shouldn't all players play more FC Cricket and they shouldn't even be selected if they don't play FC Cricket, right?

I mean these examples are not the fault of ICC or BCCI, right?:

Hasan Nawaz: 11 FC games
Usman Khan: 3 Fc games
Haris Rauf: 11 Fc Games
Abass Afridi: 9 Fc games

Salman Ali Agha is part of the same system and here is his experience and we all can see the improvement in his game and ability to learn

Salman Ali Agha: 100 FC Games

 

[TeymurBlake]

Domestic cricket is important, it's a great platform to work on weaknesses, gain from & confidence.

However, Pakistan's domestic structure is game that constantly changes in PCBs eyes & control.

It's also important to remember that the pitches in Pakistan have regressed to becoming roads as opposed to spin friendly pitches.

 

[mominsaigol]

While Pakistan is not playing enough test matches (agreed), shouldn't all players play more FC Cricket and they shouldn't even be selected if they don't play FC Cricket, right?

I mean these examples are not the fault of ICC or BCCI, right?:

Hasan Nawaz: 11 FC games
Usman Khan: 3 Fc games
Haris Rauf: 11 Fc Games
Abass Afridi: 9 Fc games

Salman Ali Agha is part of the same system and here is his experience and we all can see the improvement in his game and ability to learn

Salman Ali Agha: 100 FC Games

I agree, they need to play more fc cricket

 

[ads101]

While Pakistan is not playing enough test matches (agreed), shouldn't all players play more FC Cricket and they shouldn't even be selected if they don't play FC Cricket, right?

I mean these examples are not the fault of ICC or BCCI, right?:

Hasan Nawaz: 11 FC games
Usman Khan: 3 Fc games
Haris Rauf: 11 Fc Games
Abass Afridi: 9 Fc games

Salman Ali Agha is part of the same system and here is his experience and we all can see the improvement in his game and ability to learn

Salman Ali Agha: 100 FC Games

Got to be honest I think the largest reason why he’s done well is he’s debuted later only after he’s played so many matches. Not necessarily just first class. Most of the batsmen who have done well or at least something has debuted later in life.

There’s a countless churn of guys who we debuted young and then who made in and out appearances before amounting to nothing.

The only guys that are ready really young are the extremely talented, guys who only come once a decade. Otherwise most of these guys come in and look like their game isn’t matured/settled yet. And the pressure of getting into/back into internationals leads to them never developing it properly in a relaxed environment.