Should Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh band together like the West Indies into a single cricket team?

[Nikhil_cric]

Surprisingly, no one has pointed out the obvious. Individually, these teams seem to have too many weaknesses to overcome across formats.
Pakistan struggles to produce Test-class bowlers, while Bangladesh lacks T20 hitters.

A combined Test team, leveraging Bangladesh's quality fast bowlers and Pakistan's Rizwan/Babar-level batters, could form a competent side.

Moreover, the fanbases of these teams already overlap significantly, mitigating concerns about merged support.

What do PPers think?

@Bhaijaan @sweep_shot @mominsaigol @FearlessRoar @BouncerGuy @The Bald Eagle @DeadlyVenom

 

[RyanRyan10]

Afghanistan is on the rise so no. They wouldn't want to band together with inferior sides.

 

[mominsaigol]

Surprised that no one has pointed out the obvious .

Individually these teams seem to have too many weaknesses to plug across formats.

Pakistan can't seem to produce Test class bowlers.

Bangladesh can't seem to produce T20 hitters

A combined Test team with quality Bangladesh fast bowlers and RizBar level batters could make a competent Test side for instance.

The fanbases of these teams already overlap a great deal so that wouldn't be an issue either.

What do Ppers think?

@Bhaijaan @sweep_shot @mominsaigol @FearlessRoar @BouncerGuy @The Bald Eagle @DeadlyVenom

Bro, Pakistan and Bangladesh separated 50+ years ago.

Now unless you're willing to help invade and conquer like you're the 2nd coming of Putin, I don't think combining will work.

also even then the side would be extremely unbalanced.

The likes of mehidy and Das are still superior to the entire batting unit.

It would basically be bangaldeshi bowlers followed by 2 to 3 Bangladeshi batters followed by one or 2 Pakistani batters like kamran ghulam.

 

[Varun]

Suggested team tagline: East or West! Pakistan is the best!

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Afghanistan is on the rise so no. They wouldn't want to band together with inferior sides.

They don't have Test class batters or fast bowlers. So it would benefit them too.

 

[Barragan]

Ridiculous idea!

Those were islands and a population that was pretty low.

The mentioned countries have different languages, traditions, greater population etc so completely different from the West Indies.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Bro, Pakistan and Bangladesh separated 50+ years ago.

Now unless you're willing to help invade and conquer like you're the 2nd coming of Putin, I don't think combining will work.

also even then the side would be extremely unbalanced.

The likes of mehidy and Das are still superior to the entire batting unit.

It would basically be bangaldeshi bowlers followed by 2 to 3 Bangladeshi batters followed by one or 2 Pakistani batters like kamran ghulam.

Brother, they can continue to be separate nations just like Jamaica and Antigua are.

Just unifying the cricket teams.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Suggested team tagline: East or West! Pakistan is the best!

Some Bangladeshis may be happy with that tag but Afghans may not like it.

"The brotherhood for all and all for the brotherhood" would be a better tagline

 

[Varun]

It would basically be bangaldeshi bowlers followed by 2 to 3 Bangladeshi batters followed by one or 2 Pakistani batters like kamran ghulam.

So you're saying the only Pakistani representative will be one who hasn't played test cricket altogether?

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Ridiculous idea!

Those were islands and a population that was pretty low.

The mentioned countries have different languages, traditions, greater population etc so completely different from the West Indies.

Yes there are some challenges but think about the multi - format potential of such a union.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

OP should consider banding together with someone of higher IQ before making these types of threads.

You are better than this.

 

[Devadwal]

Good suggestion as Bangladesh is always minnows but now Pakistan is also brink of minnows so its better to play combined .

Afghanistan is better team than both of them in limited over formats

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Fakhar
Gurbaz
Bobby
Rizwan
Towhid
Azmat
Mehidy
Rashid
Mahmud
Naseem
Shaheen

What an ODI side that would make

 

[Nikhil_cric]

OP should consider banding together with someone of higher IQ before making these types of threads.

You are better than this.

Why do you think this is not a good idea?

 

[Barragan]

Yes there are some challenges but think about the multi - format potential of such a union.

No, absolutely not!

Those countries have more than enough population to produce talent in the future

Not everyday Pak will produce an Imran, Wasim, Miandad etc or Bangladesh a Shakib, Tamim, Mushfiqur etc.

 

[Devadwal]

Fakhar
Gurbaz
Bobby
Rizwan
Towhid
Azmat
Mehidy
Rashid
Mahmud
Naseem
Shaheen

What an ODI side that would make

Farooqi is better than any pacer in this lineup .

 

[Hellion]

Worth a shot. Still not convinced that they can do much but the Afghans should be able to raise the ceiling of this "United" side

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Farooqi is better than any pacer in this lineup .

Maybe only slightly better than Shaheen but it's debatable.

 

[mominsaigol]

So you're saying the only Pakistani representative will be one who hasn't played test cricket altogether?

Yes lol. Whole team sucks and is worse then Bangladeshi batters atm

 

[FearlessRoar]

Surprisingly, no one has pointed out the obvious. Individually, these teams seem to have too many weaknesses to overcome across formats.
Pakistan struggles to produce Test-class bowlers, while Bangladesh lacks T20 hitters.

A combined Test team, leveraging Bangladesh's quality fast bowlers and Pakistan's Rizwan/Babar-level batters, could form a competent side.

Moreover, the fanbases of these teams already overlap significantly, mitigating concerns about merged support.

What do PPers think?

@Bhaijaan @sweep_shot @mominsaigol @FearlessRoar @BouncerGuy @The Bald Eagle @DeadlyVenom

Thanks for asking my opinion @Nikhil_cric

I think it's a great idea! I'd be even happier if we teamed up with Bangladesh, especially since they have an abundance of talented players, arguably even more so than us.

Afghanistan has replaced Pakistan as Asia's giant. They don't need to band up with any team.

 

[Unleashed]

Great idea OP.

Should be followed, even though the likes of Afghanistan are on the up and maybe Pakistan will bring them down.

 

[Omer2002]

well that would be embarassing as i am sure NOT one player will fit in their team and thats the truth.

 

[Misia]

I would rather see pak arrange more test series with Afghanistan Bangladesh Sri Lanka

 

[Bhaijaan]

Give us a few decades and Mahabharat might just be back anyway.

 

[stani_pak]

Worst post I have ever seen the OP is clearly trolling

 

[Extra_Cover]

With all due respect to OP the suggestion is frankly just taking the ****. If we are talking about the talents in the country then lets not forget the list includes Pakistan who is currently the reigning CT winners and will be defending their title with other multiple world title under their belt including number 1 test team. So the suggestion is futile.

If the suggestion is to band together due to the area size of the country then again its a moot argument given India (largest cricket playing nation by area size) lost test title to New Zealand (arguably smallest cricket playing nation by area size). So once again the logic falls apart and doesn't stack up.

 

[RidiculousMan]

Surprisingly, no one has pointed out the obvious. Individually, these teams seem to have too many weaknesses to overcome across formats.
Pakistan struggles to produce Test-class bowlers, while Bangladesh lacks T20 hitters.

A combined Test team, leveraging Bangladesh's quality fast bowlers and Pakistan's Rizwan/Babar-level batters, could form a competent side.

Moreover, the fanbases of these teams already overlap significantly, mitigating concerns about merged support.

What do PPers think?

@Bhaijaan @sweep_shot @mominsaigol @FearlessRoar @BouncerGuy @The Bald Eagle @DeadlyVenom

India has to join in as well and also Nepal. There has to be one single South Asian Cricket team.

 

[RehanG]

Good idea, India should've done that too in late 80/90's When they were getting owned by Pak, SL ect every other day.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Good idea, India should've done that too in late 80/90's When they were getting owned by Pak, SL ect every other day.

India wasn't losing in this fashion especially at home.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

India has to join in as well and also Nepal. There has to be one single South Asian Cricket team.

There's no need for India to join because they can stand in their own in all formats . Nepal probably can

 

[RidiculousMan]

There's no need for India to join because they can stand in their own in all formats . Nepal probably can

No point in making a coalition without India then. When a family reunion happens all family members must come together.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

No point in making a coalition without India then. When a family reunion happens all family members must come together.

India doesn't that kind of a family. We aren't going into a Test with only 1 seam allrounder and 3 spinners.

 

[mon858]

i like the idea, would really help Pakistan in particular from teams that are beating them and prevent them dropping to further minnow levels.
could have a cool name also. BAP. welcome to day 1 morning where BAP is playing India.
if Bangladesh doesn't want to join, we can invite Sri Lanka, and make it SLAP.

 

[jnaveen1980]

West Indies is already a team that represents multiple countries.

 

[Hellion]

i like the idea, would really help Pakistan in particular from teams that are beating them and prevent them dropping to further minnow levels.
could have a cool name also. BAP. welcome to day 1 morning where BAP is playing India.
if Bangladesh doesn't want to join, we can invite Sri Lanka, and make it SLAP.

BAP sounds good. Sri Lanka are doing decently in all formats so no need for SL.

 

[sweep_shot]

West Indies needed it because those countries were very small with small populations.

BD, Pakistan, and Afghanistan have big populations. So, it is not required.

Anyway, I am okay with the idea but it is unlikely to happen.

 

[Asif321]

Yeah what a great suggestion . Already cricket is being played by just few nations lets further lower it down

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Yeah what a great suggestion . Already cricket is being played by just few nations lets further lower it down

Quality is more important than quantity in cricket

 

[jnaveen1980]

Hypothetically if it happens

Saim/Shadab will lose out to Nissanka.

Babar vs Chandimal
Rizwan vs Gurbaz
Agha salman vs Kamindu

 

[Josh]

This should happen if Pakistan keeps performing like this in next 2-3 years but only in test cricket

 

[deltexas]

Nope totally disagree. More fun in beating Pak Ban Afg multiple times vs beating them once as a united team.


Looks like Ind is way many steps above these teams. Hope these countries call the US for more T20 series. Will be more competetive ! Anyway the US team will have Ind and Pak players , so an internal Pak vs Afg or Ind vs Pak sort of games can happen with the US cricket team !

 

[charlie007]

And call them what, Banpaghistan?

 

[Justcrazy]

Do you understand how much chaos selection would be , too much politics in these countries with background of egos. It can be fun to make dream Teams , but in real life , its disaster.

 

[Champ_Pal]

I see the love growing day by day between Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. They were one country a few decades ago. They can unite if they want.

Afghanistan is on its way to become a strong cricketing nation. I am sure they do not want any part of the Pak-BD alliance.

 

[mominsaigol]

I wanna do a hypothetical tbh

1) Gurbaz (WK)
2) Fakhar Zaman
3) Liton Das (Put him at 3)
4) Azamatullah Omairzai
5) Salman Ali Agha
6) Shakib ul Hasan/Mehidy Hasan Mehraj( ik mehidy is poor in odi, but he's good in test and frankly Shakib is aging now)
7) Rashid Khan
8) Mujeeb ur Rahman
9) Naveen ul Haq
10) Nahid Rana/ Hasan Mahmud
11) Farooqi

^^ Not a bad team tbh.

 

[offstump]

Mohsin Naqvi to head the newly formed cricket board

 

[Buffet]

I wanna do a hypothetical tbh

1) Gurbaz (WK)
2) Fakhar Zaman
3) Liton Das (Put him at 3)
4) Azamatullah Omairzai
5) Salman Ali Agha
6) Shakib ul Hasan/Mehidy Hasan Mehraj( ik mehidy is poor in odi, but he's good in test and frankly Shakib is aging now)
7) Rashid Khan
8) Mujeeb ur Rahman
9) Naveen ul Haq
10) Nahid Rana/ Hasan Mahmud
11) Farooqi

^^ Not a bad team tbh.

In shorter format's probably, but 5 Afg players in the test format?

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

Bro, Pakistan and Bangladesh separated 50+ years ago.

Now unless you're willing to help invade and conquer like you're the 2nd coming of Putin, I don't think combining will work.

also even then the side would be extremely unbalanced.

The likes of mehidy and Das are still superior to the entire batting unit.

It would basically be bangaldeshi bowlers followed by 2 to 3 Bangladeshi batters followed by one or 2 Pakistani batters like kamran ghulam.

Yeah Kamran Ghulam, poor lad hasn't even played yet.

 

[Varun]

And call them what, Banpaghistan?

Pakghanisdesh

 

[BouncerGuy]

This idea is good to hear for fun purposes but there is no real surety that it will work. I like this rivalry war going on between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

I would like to keep that going.

 

[Asif321]

Quality is more important than quantity in cricket

Cricket is a joke outside sub continent. The reception which Pat Cummins got after winning WC explains it . It’s sub continent which drives cricket . T20 is future for growth of cricket . Hence more teams needed just like last T20WC .

 

[mominsaigol]

In shorter format's probably, but 5 Afg players in the test format?

I was making an odi team

 

[Mamoon]

OP should consider banding together with someone of higher IQ before making these types of threads.

You are better than this.

He could have banded with someone with a 200 IQ but the end result would have still been 0, because 200*0 = 0.

 

[Unbiased-Fan]

There are only 12 test playing teams, only 3-4 are good ones. Why you want to reduce that number further?

 

[Nikhil_cric]

There are only 12 test playing teams, only 3-4 are good ones. Why you want to reduce that number further?

This is for all formats . The 3-4 good Test sides don't include any of these teams .

A combined team could be a 5th godd side in Tests.

 

[Unbiased-Fan]

This is for all formats . The 3-4 good Test sides don't include any of these teams .

A combined team could be a 5th godd side in Tests.

Sorry mate, bad idea

 

[FastBowlingAllrounder]

Cricket is a joke outside sub continent. The reception which Pat Cummins got after winning WC explains it . It’s sub continent which drives cricket . T20 is future for growth of cricket . Hence more teams needed just like last T20WC .

More teams in T20I won't be the future. More leagues and more franchises spanning across multiple leagues will be, and is becoming, the future.

On another note, OP must have hit his head after falling out of bed this morning.

 

[Pakhs]

Test cricket is in decline outside of the "big three" nations, and frankly, it seems like fewer people care. The future of the game appears to be dominated by T20, which many argue isn’t even real cricket. As a result, cricket as a whole is losing its broader relevance.

Even the top three cricketing nations rely heavily on T20 to generate most of their revenue, which in turn helps sustain the other two formats. For many in the subcontinent, Test cricket was never the favorite format, and now T20 has taken over entirely.

To address the topic of this thread, while it may seem like a bad idea, it’s not as unreasonable as it sounds. Test cricket is a dying format that requires significant resources to survive—resources it can no longer generate, given the growing preference for T20. In today’s fast-paced world, where 99% of people can’t dedicate five days to follow a single sport, Test cricket feels increasingly out of sync with modern life.

 

[kron]

Surprisingly, no one has pointed out the obvious. Individually, these teams seem to have too many weaknesses to overcome across formats.
Pakistan struggles to produce Test-class bowlers, while Bangladesh lacks T20 hitters.

A combined Test team, leveraging Bangladesh's quality fast bowlers and Pakistan's Rizwan/Babar-level batters, could form a competent side.

Moreover, the fanbases of these teams already overlap significantly, mitigating concerns about merged support.

What do PPers think?

@Bhaijaan @sweep_shot @mominsaigol @FearlessRoar @BouncerGuy @The Bald Eagle @DeadlyVenom

Afghans will never join bdesh or Pakistan. More chance of joining india.

Sri Lanka should join TN and be part of india. I don't mind a kamidu or a pathirana.

 

[kron]

I see the love growing day by day between Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. They were one country a few decades ago. They can unite if they want.

Afghanistan is on its way to become a strong cricketing nation. I am sure they do not want any part of the Pak-BD alliance.

Like Alaska to America.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Ridiculous thread. Pak is going through a tough phase, they will bounce back.