What does the future hold for Pakistan cricket?

[Haleem-ul-Hassan]

We have reached a stage where pakistan cricket is reeking of mediocrity and failure. It hurts deep inside to see this sorry state of affairs for the one sport that we all hold so deep in our hearts. And it is not just the lack of talent on display, but more frustrating are the decisions being made by the management.

We have an absolute failure of a captain, whom i would pick as the last man to even think about being in odis, let alone OPEN AND CAPTAIN THE DAMN TEAM. He knows jackshit about captaincy, aggressiveness and accelarating an innings.

We all know how poor and terrible Hafeez is outside of Asia, yet we persisted with him throughout the england tour, and then recalled him to again play at number 3 in Australia, the one position where he should NOT have been playing, given Babar's recent success at that position.

And then there is Asad Shafiq. Probably the worst ever batsman to play for pakistan in ODIs. A proven failure recalled to the odi side against australia, to fail yet again, and be dropped yet again.

Anyone who has an ounce of cricketing sense knows muhammad rizwan should be playing gully danda rather than cricket, that too at international level. From the first ball i saw him play in his career, i knew what a joke his batting is, and yet he has been a consistent member of the side for over an year now.

The less said about Rahat Ali, Imran Khan, Wahab Riaz the better. Add to that the complete failure of Yasir Shah to evolve as a bowler. It seems he has left his brain back in the UAE, and is a walking talking run machine for the opposition.

And then there is our defensive mindset, the lack of any real hitting talent down the order unlike every other team, we are scared, we are meek, we are a joke, not even a shadow of our past.

The current state of affairs is just mind boggling. It is as if somebody decided what could the worst odi team be, and then handpicked a bunch of losers to play for pakistan (barring some exceptions, like Sharjeel, Babar, Amir, Junaid, Hassan Ali).

What does the future hold? Is there any hope? Will any sensible decisions ever take place from the pcb, the management, the selectors? Should we expect ANY changes to atleast TRY to get things moving in the right direction? Or will we make the same damn mistakes over and over and over again.........Bloody frustrating and depressing to see us like this. From a team of legends to an open mockery for the world to see.

 

[Zohaib Shah]

Don't get your hopes up. Just see this team as a joke. Putting too much investment in a team that is managed by people who know nothing about cricket is always going to end in a disaster.

Personally I am not even upset about our loss to Australia. Right when I knew who was captaining the side I knew right away we would lose. Its becoming common now with Azhar as a captain.

 

[Haleem-ul-Hassan]

Makes you wonder how bangladeshi fans survived all those years of mediocrity from their team. What a horrible place to be in, to see your international team as a complete joke.

 

[Mamoon]

What I have been telling everyone for years but no one listened.

 

[Madplayer]

What I have been telling everyone for years but no one listened.

Duniya umeed pe qayam hai.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

We've competed pretty well against the best ODI side in their home despite carrying passengers and captain fantastic. Not many expected this.

 

[MRSN]

well things have been going down and down since 2011 when Afridi was replaced by the guy who was not good enough to make the team on skills and then witnessing the torture of his 4 years reign with his tenure ending him getting a farewell at 2015. Just when you thought there can't be worse than this PCB found another way to top this by repeating the mistake Ijaz butt made to make captain someone who didn't deserve to be in that format. As a Pakistani fans I have seen so much worse in the last five years. only so much a die hard fan can take.

 

[Pete Rose]

We will get better and this experience will help. Every team travels poorly . This is hardly insightful

 

[fazleefridi]

Look, the CRICKET IS CHANGED

Earlier, it was bowlers who used to dominate. Now it's the other way.

You can use 5 bowling all rounders to bowl 50 overs , no issues, but you gotta have a batting line up which can score 320 at par.

India, Aus, Nz, SA and ENG has it in them.

Even BAN are trying their best(feeling proud to mention it)

WI(t20's has caused their downfall, in other words, MONEY)

so SL and PAK are the only countries left behind.

You can never rely on your bowling unit, as the rules doesn't support them.

If there's to be any hope, it should be with addressing ur batting line up.

Sharjeel and up-to some extent Babar are the only dynamic players in your squad.

Sarfraz can do the job of accumulator in the middle overs.

If haris comeback, it would do world of good.

So you have these players who can fit in on merit

Sharjeel
???
Babar
Haris
Sarfraz
???
???/(Imad)

No. 2,6,7 are totally empty

You got to fill them.

All is not gloom for you guys.

But, sooner it's rectified,the better

Instead of addressing this, your board and selectors are bringing more passengers

Azhar
Hafeez
Malik
Umar
Asad
Rizwan
Nawaz

So you have a complete line up, which has nothing to do, at least in modern odis.

Apart from these 7

Wahab
Rahat

So 7+2 it makes 9.

Out of 15 in the squad, 9 members doesn't belong to this lois at least.

Then how can you improve.

First you need to build strong playing 11, then strong squad, then strong bench strength.

You have good players at 1,3,4,5,7..Add good no. 2,6(NO.6 is MOST IMPORTANT )

Improve Imad's hitting ability at 7

then add good no.8(good bowler who can hit)

9,10,11(are fine as of now).

Nothing is difficult, If worked out.

If not, the same question would be asked even in 2019

 

[Syed1]

When PP'ers are still trying to 'adjust' TTFs like Umar Akmal in the batting line-up, you know the problem is not just with PCB but the Pakistani fans at large. Bhai we ask for these players and these are what we are getting. We put Misbah on a pedestal and his 'recommendation' was made the captain without any thorough analysis of the competency of the incoming captain.

Then there are some who are still trying to 'adjust' Wahab Riaz within the bowling line-up, I can't take names but a very experienced poster even went so far to suggest that we drop Hasan in the 4th ODI because of Wahab's aggression. Hasan ended up taking 5 wickets.

Then a thread was floating around on PP asking to recall Afridi.

The problem is not with the team, it is with us.

Look at Australia, they beat India freaking 4-1 at home not too long ago yet the team they are playing now is completely different from the one that played against India. If it were upto our selectors/fans each of the participants of such a 4-1 victory would have been guaranteed a spot in the side for the next 5 years or atleast afforded the opportunity to make a couple of comebacks.

Some fans are asking for Azhar to be dropped and replaced by Shehzad. That is like trying to put out a fire by pour oil on it

 

[Anis10]

Losing to Australia in Australia isn't necessarily that bad, India lost to Australia 4-1 and India is a far better team then us.

But even with that in mind we won't be having much success in the near future, so I don't except us to do much in next 5 years.

However I can't see us, a cricket mad nation not to eventually become good again. It will take time but I have hope.

 

[Hasan123]

Watching Pakistan in Odis these days is depressing and tortuous.

 

[MRSN]

When PP'ers are still trying to 'adjust' TTFs like Umar Akmal in the batting line-up, you know the problem is not just with PCB but the Pakistani fans at large. Bhai we ask for these players and these are what we are getting. We put Misbah on a pedestal and his 'recommendation' was made the captain without any thorough analysis of the competency of the incoming captain.

Then there are some who are still trying to 'adjust' Wahab Riaz within the bowling line-up, I can't take names but a very experienced poster even went so far to suggest that we drop Hasan in the 4th ODI because of Wahab's aggression. Hasan ended up taking 5 wickets.

Then a thread was floating around on PP asking to recall Afridi.

The problem is not with the team, it is with us.

Look at Australia, they beat India freaking 4-1 at home not too long ago yet the team they are playing now is completely different from the one that played against India. If it were upto our selectors/fans each of the participants of such a 4-1 victory would have been guaranteed a spot in the side for the next 5 years or atleast afforded the opportunity to make a couple of comebacks.

Some fans are asking for Azhar to be dropped and replaced by Shehzad. That is like trying to put out a fire by pour oil on it

What exactly are the alternatives? Umar Akmal is backed by sane people here because he has the talent and skills required for today's ODI game. If Pakistan had a good cricket system we wouldn't be debating about him. We might have seen his alternatives already.

The reality is Pakistan cricketing structure is so awful that we had to replace Shehzad with Azhar who was out of team for 2 years. We dropped UA but never found his alternative. It's been 2 years since he has been in and out. Who replaced him? Shafiq and great YK.

Name me any player who has better potential as ODI player for the role of UA than we all will call for UA's drop from the team immediately.

 

[Haleem-ul-Hassan]

What is Inzi doing as a selecto?. Had such high hopes from him, that he will actually do something logical and daring, but he has done jack sh*t. Respect him so much as a batsman, but unfortunately he has turned out to be exactly like his predecessors, or maybe even worse. Its not about losing to australia or losing here or losing there. Its about the lack of common cricketing sense in our management, in our selection, in our repeated failures, and in this cycle of doom.

If we can see all these problems that the team is facing, if we can figure out all the reasons for their failures, then why cant the people who are bloody to paid to do it. As for some PPers here, someone rightly pointed out about them as well. So many stupid suggestions and posts going around that makes you hit your head on the wall. For some Nawaz is a hero, for others Rizwan is an actual international batsman, for others Shafiq is the best batsman in the squad, for others Shahzad and Akmal are the most talented bunch around. And a big shoutout to the genius who made a post about recalling Afridi back. Just makes you wonder if there is an alternate reality where all this was true and you are living in the wrong one.

 

[Zohaib Shah]

When PP'ers are still trying to 'adjust' TTFs like Umar Akmal in the batting line-up, you know the problem is not just with PCB but the Pakistani fans at large. Bhai we ask for these players and these are what we are getting. We put Misbah on a pedestal and his 'recommendation' was made the captain without any thorough analysis of the competency of the incoming captain.

Then there are some who are still trying to 'adjust' Wahab Riaz within the bowling line-up, I can't take names but a very experienced poster even went so far to suggest that we drop Hasan in the 4th ODI because of Wahab's aggression. Hasan ended up taking 5 wickets.

Then a thread was floating around on PP asking to recall Afridi.

The problem is not with the team, it is with us.

Look at Australia, they beat India freaking 4-1 at home not too long ago yet the team they are playing now is completely different from the one that played against India. If it were upto our selectors/fans each of the participants of such a 4-1 victory would have been guaranteed a spot in the side for the next 5 years or atleast afforded the opportunity to make a couple of comebacks.

Some fans are asking for Azhar to be dropped and replaced by Shehzad. That is like trying to put out a fire by pour oil on it

This post suggests PCB actually reads PP.

 

[Lynx]

What is Inzi doing as a selecto?. Had such high hopes from him, that he will actually do something logical and daring, but he has done jack sh*t. Respect him so much as a batsman, but unfortunately he has turned out to be exactly like his predecessors, or maybe even worse. Its not about losing to australia or losing here or losing there. Its about the lack of common cricketing sense in our management, in our selection, in our repeated failures, and in this cycle of doom.

If we can see all these problems that the team is facing, if we can figure out all the reasons for their failures, then why cant the people who are bloody to paid to do it. As for some PPers here, someone rightly pointed out about them as well. So many stupid suggestions and posts going around that makes you hit your head on the wall. For some Nawaz is a hero, for others Rizwan is an actual international batsman, for others Shafiq is the best batsman in the squad, for others Shahzad and Akmal are the most talented bunch around. And a big shoutout to the genius who made a post about recalling Afridi back. Just makes you wonder if there is an alternate reality where all this was true and you are living in the wrong one.

Lack of education. As I've always said, just because someone is a good batsman or a bowler, doesn't mean he'll be good at captaincy or other roles. Every role requires a decent skill set. Inzi and all these ex pros like Yousuf still carry that 90s cricket mentality, while the game has moved on. We're trying to build a team filled with accumulators from 2-6 (barring Sharjeel). These guys in our management, and SO MANY of our fans, cant' solve problems logically and lack the ability to think critically. It's really no wonder we're in the state we are, both in cricket and as a nation.

 

[Haleem-ul-Hassan]

Lack of education. As I've always said, just because someone is a good batsman or a bowler, doesn't mean he'll be good at captaincy or other roles. Every role requires a decent skill set. Inzi and all these ex pros like Yousuf still carry that 90s cricket mentality, while the game has moved on. We're trying to build a team filled with accumulators from 2-6 (barring Sharjeel). These guys in our management, and SO MANY of our fans, cant' solve problems logically and lack the ability to think critically. It's really no wonder we're in the state we are, both in cricket and as a nation.

Ya Allah Madad karo, nikalo hamay iss daldal se.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

future is bleak...malik, hafeez, azhar, UA and shehzad gonna rot this team for another decade or even further... arthur by now would have realized this is a mediocre bunch and we cant get them out as they crawl back into the dressing room via back door even during his own tenure.. soon he will give up on this mediocre bunch... Mickey will face his worst nightmare in the CT2017 as a coach if he doesnt kick out the mediocrity now and never let them back in...

 

[ExplicitAI]

Our cricket isn't gonna die. The management is just horrendous, you can't make someone captain if they hardly captained in domestic cricket and expect them to be a success. You've got a great candidate in Sarfraz as ODI captain but you choose to not have him leading the side. I still can't fathom that I got ripped apart one time for saying that Asad is a terrible ODI batsman, it's this type of stuff that makes us lose more games. We've got the right players knocking on the doors, it's just that if our selectors are willing to choose them. I can already see Mohammad Irfan coming back to the ODI team against West Indies, that's what they're gonna do.