[PICTURES] Declining global stardom: Contrasting Pakistan's cricket icons, past and present

[FearlessRoar]

In the 1970s and '80s, Pakistan had big cricket superstars globally like Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, and Imran Khan. They were famous not just for cricket but for being cool on and off the field. Their style and fashion were a hit, inspiring fans worldwide.

What made them even cooler was their excellent communication skills and sense of humor. They weren't just great at cricket, they also set fashion trends. After them, Wasim Akram became a big deal, followed by Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar, who were also famous worldwide.

Nowadays, Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi are known globally too. But they don't seem to have that impactful personalities, that confidence, and those communication skills like the precious players. They're famous, but they don't shine as brightly. I wonder why? Maybe things have changed, or maybe more focus on religion has affected the game. It feels like we've not only lost cool players but also the game isn't as dynamic anymore.

What do you think makes the cricket stars of the past stand out more compared to the present ones?

 

[The Bald Eagle]

In the 1970s and '80s, Pakistan had big cricket superstars globally like Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, and Imran Khan. They were famous not just for cricket but for being cool on and off the field. Their style and fashion were a hit, inspiring fans worldwide.

What made them even cooler was their excellent communication skills and sense of humor. They weren't just great at cricket, they also set fashion trends. After them, Wasim Akram became a big deal, followed by Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar, who were also famous worldwide.

Nowadays, Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi are known globally too. But they don't seem to have that impactful personalities, that confidence, and those communication skills like the precious players. They're famous, but they don't shine as brightly. I wonder why? Maybe things have changed, or maybe more focus on religion has affected the game. It feels like we've not only lost cool players but also the game isn't as dynamic anymore.

What do you think makes the cricket stars of the past stand out more compared to the present ones?

I think the problem is that the stars of past also had performance to back their haughty attitude. But in recent times, Pakistani players only have attitude but no performance to back it up. Recently Imam ul Haq and Hasan Ali appeared in various podcasts made big claims like we are the "No. 1 odi side", "bobzy-the king Kar lega" etc. But when they come on field they fail miserably to leave an impact.

 

[Major]

Its the press conferences and interviews these guys give.

Look at our players speak in media and look at how australian players speak.

Our players do the usual, oh our boys are working hard, the biryani was great etc. once kevin peterson was doing some social media video with ahmed shezad and shezad acting all diplomatic, peterson insulted shezad live on air that come on, you are not sitting in a press conference.

Its because of this, i believe these guys come across as lame and nowadays no one wants to watch a babar, shaheen, rizwan, sarfraz or any other players interview.

Because we know its going to be the same scripted response.

There communication skills suck but what you say also matters aswell.

Shahid afridi used to be blunt, even Misbah who would go to lengths to defend his boys would rip apart his players when they acted stupud. Infact Misbah even got mentioned in a US tv series.

Than there behavior aswell adds to it. Shaheen hugging players, shadab passing smiles. Naseem gets hyped up only because these guys are aggressive against Afghanistan

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

The people born in the 50s and 60s were men of calibre mainly because the British empire influence was still strong so they embodied core values of high communication, discipline and self respect.

 

[Rana]

In the 1970s and '80s, Pakistan had big cricket superstars globally like Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, and Imran Khan. They were famous not just for cricket but for being cool on and off the field. Their style and fashion were a hit, inspiring fans worldwide.

What made them even cooler was their excellent communication skills and sense of humor. They weren't just great at cricket, they also set fashion trends. After them, Wasim Akram became a big deal, followed by Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar, who were also famous worldwide.

Nowadays, Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi are known globally too. But they don't seem to have that impactful personalities, that confidence, and those communication skills like the precious players. They're famous, but they don't shine as brightly. I wonder why? Maybe things have changed, or maybe more focus on religion has affected the game. It feels like we've not only lost cool players but also the game isn't as dynamic anymore.

What do you think makes the cricket stars of the past stand out more compared to the present ones?

Good question.

I don’t think English is an issue or not being able to keep up with trends for Babar and Shaheen. They try their best. It’s more down to mental growth. Personally I feel Babar and Shaheen never really grew/developed mentally whilst always being in the PCB set up since childhood. They are different people from where they started from and they have tried to become bigger personalities, but they just don’t seem to have it in them. Shadab also, tries to be this Uber charismatic guy but he also never grew or developed with the exposure he got.

I don’t think education or good image has a huge role in this. Shan and Imad are educated, they try to be different but he also is bland. So being educated and having decent English doesn’t cut that larger than life persona anyways. Look at Ronaldo and Neymar…can’t really speak English but they are natural superstars. They have real charisma and are revered all around the world. Mike Tyson wasn’t a decent bloke who wanted to come across as good in the eyes of people, but he was one highly feared and followed person all over the world.

In my humble opinion, this is God gifted. Some guys are gifted with the larger than life attraction, and most are just not no matter how hard they try. You can’t exactly be moulded into a superstar either, Shoaib Malik is a case of someone who had wit and knew designed a more socially acceptable version of himself as compared to Sialkot homeboy, but even then he never ever became a global image.

One thing I noticed, dating history can help. Dating high profile, beautiful women in the glamour world for on the rise stars can propel them to global stardom. This is where Islam does come in as these boys cannot really be seen to be open and libertine with their relationships.

IMO, since Akhtar and Afridi (the last of the stars), the only guy or guys that had that superstar charisma from Pakistan were Amir and Asif (pre ban). These two for real had personality and Charisma even in their ‘coming out of the village persona’ phase. They messed it up, but they had a genuine aura about them. Since these two, no one has emerged that could have gone to that level, no matter how hard they tried.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Its the press conferences and interviews these guys give.

Look at our players speak in media and look at how australian players speak.

Our players do the usual, oh our boys are working hard, the biryani was great etc. once kevin peterson was doing some social media video with ahmed shezad and shezad acting all diplomatic, peterson insulted shezad live on air that come on, you are not sitting in a press conference.

Its because of this, i believe these guys come across as lame and nowadays no one wants to watch a babar, shaheen, rizwan, sarfraz or any other players interview.

Because we know its going to be the same scripted response.

There communication skills suck but what you say also matters aswell.

Shahid afridi used to be blunt, even Misbah who would go to lengths to defend his boys would rip apart his players when they acted stupud. Infact Misbah even got mentioned in a US tv series.

Than there behavior aswell adds to it. Shaheen hugging players, shadab passing smiles. Naseem gets hyped up only because these guys are aggressive against Afghanistan

Absolutely, remember how Sarfaraz was shy and unconfident during the captain's press conference before the ICC World Cup 2019, and he clownishly said, "My answer is the same as Virat Kohli's." I mean, come on, this is not how our captain should be during a mega event press conference.You are representing a nation, your personality matters, your presence must be felt and recognized by the media. In the past, the media used to take interest in getting answers from our captain, like Imran Khan.

 

[bones]

I don't care about any of these things, all we care about is on field performance.

 

[iRfaN_LA]

English is not the issue, these guys just don't have the personality or self confidence. For those of us who grew up in 80s 90s or 2000s understand this very well and it hurts us to see the latest crop of players.

 

[Statpadder Inc]

People can pretend otherwise, but the ability to communicate in English plays a massive part in being a global cricketing superstar. You don't need to speak like an angrez, but atleast speak fluently. No offense but hearing someone like babar speak in English makes people cringe

 

[prisha]

Babar looks timid and evasive when I saw him playing in india like in press conference. I don’t know Hindi well so I can’t gauge how shaheen or Bobby sound in their mother tongue. It is not hard for them to take some classes in style, presentation or languag. Before we had to do depend on natural charisma and street smartness but now a days you can be coached and look polished for anything. i saw one show on YouTube where wasim akra, shoaib malik and another guy were talking they looked exuberant and active. You can get trained for anything. During World Cup I saw kuldip Yadav talking in English I felt very happy for him. Even jaiswal struggling with English but really trying made me happy. Bobby seems to have a home in UK as I saw his brother had a program in YouTube so why is it hard for him to speak in English.

 

[Major]

Absolutely, remember how Sarfaraz was shy and unconfident during the captain's press conference before the ICC World Cup 2019, and he clownishly said, "My answer is the same as Virat Kohli's." I mean, come on, this is not how our captain should be during a mega event press conference.You are representing a nation, your personality matters, your presence must be felt and recognized by the media. In the past, the media used to take interest in getting answers from our captain, like Imran Khan.

When sarfraz said that, it was the biggest insult for me as a pakistani..

 

[emranabbas]

Pre 2010 most of the players showed their personalities after the 2010 fixing episode a lot of our players have been reserved and tried to show a good boy personality maybe to avoid controversies, and might have gone too overboard with it. I know babar off camera is a bubbly person but in interviews he just seems so reserved and just sticks to the point.

Also pakistani media may be responsible for creating masala news and players just want to avoid getting involved in all that

Players neither have performance to back it up
Imagine babar thumping his chest for scoring a 100 vs Nepal its only going to make him look silly

 

[Rana]

When sarfraz said that, it was the biggest insult for me as a pakistani..

What about when Rizwan said mine and Babar’s chemistry is same?

 

[sweep_shot]

It is true.

Pakistan haven't had a charismatic superstar since Shahid Afridi's retirement.

Babar, Shaheen, and Fakhar were the only close ones.

 

[FearlessRoar]

It is true.

Pakistan haven't had a charismatic superstar since Shahid Afridi's retirement.

Babar, Shaheen, and Fakhar were the only close ones.

Fakhar is even more shy and anti social.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

It's good that we don't have any big media stars in our team anymore. As such players not only remains unfocused on their own game but also distract others in dressing room. So to not have a big stardom in cricket now could be a blessing in disguise for Pakistan.

 

[SamNJ]

Superstardom may or may not be but intellectual growth is very important for a player.
Case in point Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Virat Kohli. As they grew intellectually, they also improved as person, their game and skills also kept evolving in parallel.
Even Shan Masood is a good example.

While many players remain the same player which they debuted as. Babar to me looks to fall in this category. Rohit Sharma, Sehwag also come to my mind.

 

[Suleiman]

Shaheen Afridi still has a lot of personality and swagger.

Babar Azam, Abdullah Shafique, Imam, Saud are cut from the same cloth. Very dull, lethargic guys from iPad era.

You can be a quiet guy yet still have an aura. Like Fakhar, Aamer Jamal and Sharjeel- three of the biggest stars after Shaheen.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

We need a Afridi and a Shoaib A ASAP.

These regens are timid. We use to produce atleast 1 mans man every 10 years.

 

[Kianig89]

No matter how garbage this team is but Babar Azam is still a World Star, look at the intensity and celebration by Hazlewood after getting him dismissed he knew the worth of this wicket

 

[BouncerGuy]

Babar's wicket was the most important one for aussies because he was looking to go big. He is a star and his presence on the crease was enough to make the oppostion nervous.

 

[Suleiman]

We need a Afridi and a Shoaib A ASAP.

These regens are timid. We use to produce atleast 1 mans man every 10 years.

Gotta hope for better than that. Both had short incredible peaks but were mediocre for the better parts of their career.

Need strong men who still put the team first. Like Imran, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas and Fazal Mehmood.

 

[shortbread]

In the 1970s and '80s, Pakistan had big cricket superstars globally like Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, and Imran Khan. They were famous not just for cricket but for being cool on and off the field. Their style and fashion were a hit, inspiring fans worldwide........

Nowadays, Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi are known globally too. But they don't seem to have that impactful personalities, that confidence, and those communication skills like the precious players. They're famous, but they don't shine as brightly. I wonder why?

Personalities are victims of their circumstances. A very very different country in the 70s, 80s and some of the 90s. The regression has been transformative, to both society and the people within it. The last few bastions of yore are the patriotic Pakistanis living abroad.

 

[sam_ahm]

Some good posts here, and it's a good thread. In my view it's a combination of several things, on field performance is one thing but the bigger issue here is that none of the players have that X factor neither do they have that bad ass attitude.

Babar Azam can give you 5 consecutive 50+ scores yet none of them might be match winning, Shahid Afridi was very inconsistent with both bat and ball early on in his career, but the 1 time out of 5 when he came off, it was a match winning knock, that created an aura around him, he had that X factor which elevated him to stardom.

Wasim Akram had that that attitude and guts to say big things and then because he was so brilliant he was able to back that up with on field performances. Javed Miandad, you listen to his counterparts, everyone says that the man simply did not know how to Quit. He got into the skin of the opposition, from mocking Kiran More at the 1992 WC to the famous "Tere hotel room mein chakka marunga", he had that kind of personality that made him stood out.

Wasim Akram in the 1999 WC said at the Toss against India " This is a practice match for us", India were still in the competition and Pak still had to win a game to reach Semis but that guy knew how to play mind games. Instead now we get Pakistan players who get nervous even when they have to defend 17 off 5 balls. Shaheen Afridi going to Virat and saying "Hum dua karenge app form mein aa jayen"... Can you imagine any Indian player saying this to Babar? They are too soft, don't have on field performances and the hunger to do well or that ruthlessness is simply ain't there, unlike the stalwarts of the past.

Inzamam had that impact with the bat that he could win any game in his own and he had the guts to take a bat and rush into the crowd to shut up someone who was mocking him. I'm not saying it's correct but it's the kind of attitude we expected from Pakistani players... They never took anything lying down.

Shoaib Aktar was bad ass, he could take Justin Langer head on and could burst open Gary Kirsten's face, Asif was bad ass too... Rana made a good point about Asif and Aamer, that had that X factor and also that sense of aura and the hunger to be the best.

The current lot is just too soft and they don't know how to carry themselves . The only bowler that I've seen who has come a little close to showing the kind of hunger and a great never say die attitude is Naseem Shah and he has good looks to do with, that also matters to an extent.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Personalities are victims of their circumstances. A very very different country in the 70s, 80s and some of the 90s. The regression has been transformative, to both society and the people within it. The last few bastions of yore are the patriotic Pakistanis living abroad.

You've made a good point. that was a different era. Nowadays, our players tend to be more reserved and anti social. A prime example is Mohammad Rizwan.You can't become a global star if you don't align with global norms and values. Recently, Mohammad Rizwan refused to shake hands with Glenn McGrath's family.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Some good posts here, and it's a good thread. In my view it's a combination of several things, on field performance is one thing but the bigger issue here is that none of the players have that X factor neither do they have that bad ass attitude.

Babar Azam can give you 5 consecutive 50+ scores yet none of them might be match winning, Shahid Afridi was very inconsistent with both bat and ball early on in his career, but the 1 time out of 5 when he came off, it was a match winning knock, that created an aura around him, he had that X factor which elevated him to stardom.

Wasim Akram had that that attitude and guts to say big things and then because he was so brilliant he was able to back that up with on field performances. Javed Miandad, you listen to his counterparts, everyone says that the man simply did not know how to Quit. He got into the skin of the opposition, from mocking Kiran More at the 1992 WC to the famous "Tere hotel room mein chakka marunga", he had that kind of personality that made him stood out.

Wasim Akram in the 1999 WC said at the Toss against India " This is a practice match for us", India were still in the competition and Pak still had to win a game to reach Semis but that guy knew how to play mind games. Instead now we get Pakistan players who get nervous even when they have to defend 17 off 5 balls. Shaheen Afridi going to Virat and saying "Hum dua karenge app form mein aa jayen"... Can you imagine any Indian player saying this to Babar? They are too soft, don't have on field performances and the hunger to do well or that ruthlessness is simply ain't there, unlike the stalwarts of the past.

Inzamam had that impact with the bat that he could win any game in his own and he had the guts to take a bat and rush into the crowd to shut up someone who was mocking him. I'm not saying it's correct but it's the kind of attitude we expected from Pakistani players... They never took anything lying down.

Shoaib Aktar was bad ass, he could take Justin Langer head on and could burst open Gary Kirsten's face, Asif was bad ass too... Rana made a good point about Asif and Aamer, that had that X factor and also that sense of aura and the hunger to be the best.

The current lot is just too soft and they don't know how to carry themselves . The only bowler that I've seen who has come a little close to showing the kind of hunger and a great never say die attitude is Naseem Shah and he has good looks to do with, that also matters to an extent.

Shoaib Akhtar was the one and only. I think we will have to wait for decades to unearth a star like Shoaib Akhtar.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Imad has brought back the bad boy image into Pakistan cricket. I guess it was flex not flaw.

 

[shortbread]

Imad has brought back the bad boy image into Pakistan cricket. I guess it was flex not flaw.

Imagine the controversy and the disciplinary that'd follow had a English or Aussie player been spotted smoking during a game?! That's not flex it's sheer ignorance, even worse sets a terrible example for others. These are supposed to be professional sportsmen, ever seen Ronaldo or Federer smoke during a game?

And folk wonder why PSL standards drop every year? The issue is that it looks like a norm letting standards slip in Pakistan cricket, fitness, smoking, results.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Smoking has nothing to do with stardom. What Imad did was sheer lack of sense of responsibility as you are a public figure that many people may follow and when they saw you smoking live, what type of impact it would have on them.

 

[Farhan The Man]

Aesthetics play a big part when it comes to marketable faces. The descent of pak cricketers from good looking to just awful is quite stark. In a very short timespan.