Why can’t Pakistan compete against top teams?

[Sher Khan]

It has always been this case. However, playing against deadwood like Zimbabwe, West Indies and Sri Lanka has masked our deficiencies and made us look invincible in International cricket. Our fans also started believing that we were unbeatable and that we would smash India in all formats in the future.

But the harsh reality, as we have seen is India have defeated us without breaking a sweat. Yet, they are without. Infact, we huffed and puffed to cross the line over Afghanistan.

I would like to know even after such improvements in our fielding and fitness standards, we are dropping such easy catches regularly at crucial times. Even after being hailed the best bowling attack in the world, we are letting teams win by 9 wickets in hand. Even after, our batsmen couldn’t stop smashing centuries. We have faltered. We have all seen this before.

Let me say one thing, the set of players we have in the squad are the BEST players in this format from our country. We can’t make excuses, that such and such has to be in the squad. Then why are we still faltering against the top sides??

 

[Sunny_majoka]

no doubt they are the best one. but they are inexperience too.
our best batsmen
Fakher-Babar-Imam combined have not played 100 ODI.
we should be patient and give this team Proper run. All the guys have potential to beat top sides.
I hope by the end of SA Series this team will be among top 4/3 sides

 

[rizrox]

There are a few points I would like to make ..
1) Our bowling is way too hyped. We are at best and average bowling side esp in batting friendly conditions and more so after the introduction of 2 new balls rule which killed 'reverse swing ' , as it used to be our main weapon in the middle and slog overs . Our only world class new ball bowler (Amir) seems a shadow of his past now .
We don't have a specialist spinner in our squad whereas the teams like India played 3 against us the last match !
2) Our batting although an improvement over the Misbah era , is still relatively inexperienced esp the top 3 . Sarfaraz and Malik are at best average ODI bats , whose replacement u'll find in teams like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka even . We don't have a proper number 6/7 batsman who can hit big and at the same time bowl some tight overs like most of the top tier teams have the luxury of .
3 ) One important and less talked about factor is that we play away from our country .Playing in front of your own people , your friends and well wishers gives you that confidence and that adrenaline rush and motivates you to perform better . Our players are most of the times away from their families and their homes ...it's tough on the players as well .Not an excuse being professional cricketers but certainly a factor which one can't deny .
4) We don't play good teams very often and even if we play it's a hastily arranged 2 match or 3 match series at best . Our weaknesses get masked while playing the minnows . U can only get better if u play the big boys and not teams like a second string Zimbabwe.
5) Lastly , our captain ....I don't know how correct I'm in my assessment but the Captain certainly looks under pressure and too anxious ...the body language is as pathetic as I've ever seen in a captain on field ..shouting and abusing after every other ball doesn't fit a captain of a great cricketing nation like Pakistan . Obviously the anxiety and stress rubs on the fellow players and the dropped catches and the misfields may be one of the manifestations.

Having said so , the Pakistan team is always mercurial and may spring a surprise or two every now and then but the bottom line is we are a number 5/6 ranked team at best in ODIs and we have to accept the fact that beating the top 3 teams will certainly be an uphill task for us most of the times .

 

[Mamoon]

Not enough quality. Everything else is ignoring the elephant in the room.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

Not playing enough quality opposition. What was the last ODI series before this tournament?

We have arrived undercooked.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Fear of failure. It has destroyed numerous young talents in our cricket, and I'm shocked it's rearing its head again under Mickey Arthur.

These boys are talented enough.

 

[Destroyer88]

Mediocre cricket level. Playing too much agaisnt the likes of west indies.. srilanka.

Inconsistent team selection and a non directional yoyo fitness test policy.

Kicking out experienced players when it was evident tbat hafeez or azhar could be a handful.

No A tours for our emerginf players. Psl too is just a t20 series and our upcoming players are only interested in t20 series.

Arrogance and no self assessment of players.

Non existent domestic setup. Players are extremely ubprofessional in these leagues. Its only raw talent that we have but no one to nurture it at world class level

Leaders arent exactly leaders. Need some to look up to.

Ex cricketers are too busy on news channels or sports segments and pcb on the other hand doesnt give a damn about them too..


All in all we are doomed.. dont know if khan sahab can bring a tsunami of change at this setup...maybe we'll have to wait for a tabdeeli

 

[Destroyer88]

This will all get hidden if pak manages to win the asia cup and then its happy days till its disaster again during the world cup. In hindsight i believe a destructing defeat could do a world of good for this team as we have good competition wirh the likes of kiwis... southafrica.. eng odis and aus (3rd or 4th string if you like). I honestly believe MOHA or azhar ali need to make a come back... imam can surely be rested.he has a flawed and very limited stroke range

 

[Ab Fan]

Pakistan can surely beat non-Asian teams in UAE or anywhere in Asia.

Although they will struggle vs SENA in SENA but the question is whether Pak can dominate SENA in UAE like most top teams do at their home.

One thing is sure:-

Aus/SA/Ind/Eng/NZ

That's top 5.

SL, WI, Ban, Afg. That's bottom 4. Now, Pakistan are in between these two tiers. They can step up to the top tier by dominating teams in top 5 or step down to tier2. Upto them how they go with this.

 

[Indieview]

From the outsider perspective,

Pakistan could focus on fundamentals, the success would follow thru. Fans need to be patient allow the team to develop

1. Selection process
2. Professional culture in the system without any comprimise

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

In LOI Pakistan havn't been great in UAE for last 8 years. How many ODI series have we won here?

 

[the_outsider]

Pakistan can surely beat non-Asian teams in UAE or anywhere in Asia.

Although they will struggle vs SENA in SENA but the question is whether Pak can dominate SENA in UAE like most top teams do at their home.

One thing is sure:-

Aus/SA/Ind/Eng/NZ

That's top 5.

SL, WI, Ban, Afg. That's bottom 4. Now, Pakistan are in between these two tiers. They can step up to the top tier by dominating teams in top 5 or step down to tier2. Upto them how they go with this.

Since around 2016,

Pakistan wins 94% matches against SL, WI, BD, AFG, ZIM IRE and SCO.

Against IND, ENG, AUS, SA and NZ that number drops down to 22%.

You're right. They are right in the middle of the pack now. Up to them where they go from here.

 

[Sam99]

Play more against top teams and you will know what to improve upon? I feel they have skills so they can do better than they are doing now.

 

[BlackShadow]

Dekhein, talent bahot hai. The real issue here is mental-strength.

 

[Finisher]

The batsmen are not capable of getting big scores against the bigger teams. They are getting 60s or 70 at best.

 

[Swing]

There is an ever increasing gap in the skills of our players and that of higher-level teams but its not like we're on our way to becoming minnows.

Do we not have enough money to get more games against England/Australia/South Africa? Even A team tours would be helpful.

 

[barah_admi]

Last ODI against SA - Pak win

Last ODI against Eng - Pak win

But no, can't compete against top sides.

 

[todfod 11]

They lack the mental edge over India.. and thats the only problem otherwise they good against most sides

 

[MMHS]

Pakistan can surely beat non-Asian teams in UAE or anywhere in Asia.

Although they will struggle vs SENA in SENA but the question is whether Pak can dominate SENA in UAE like most top teams do at their home.

One thing is sure:-

Aus/SA/Ind/Eng/NZ

That's top 5.

SL, WI, Ban, Afg. That's bottom 4. Now, Pakistan are in between these two tiers. They can step up to the top tier by dominating teams in top 5 or step down to tier2. Upto them how they go with this.

Replace ZIM with BD in the bottom half - we didn’t play ODI with PAK in last 3.5 years.

 

[Majid Khan]

One word - Mindset.

The same reason Pakistanis generally do not succeed at Olympics sports.

When you see players from Australia, India, South Africa, England they play with a desire to be the best they can be, no matter what their ability. They actually learn from mistakes and show IMPROVEMENT.

Pakistani players no matter how gifted, do not learn or improve - they play with the aim of doing just about enough to get job security. They want to achieve fame and status and then chill and enjoy the perks . But to be the best as a sportsman takes a different mindset, one where there are always new goals and hard work and sacrifices need to be done to achieve them...just ask Sachin and Kohli.

 

[Eye_Done]

Batting is really poor especially in LOIs.When your best batsman Malik is a bowler turned batsman from 90s shows you the dire situation.

 

[Pete Rose]

Because we don’t play them enough. It’s an itinerary issue

 

[OmaIR1]

It's very simple, really!

There are 3 main areas that have caused Pakistan cricket to decline:

1) Quality of players
We live under this assumption that there is an abundance of exceptional talent in Pakistan but the fact is that the talent we have is not world level. Indian newcomers on the other hand are 'world level ready' due to their exposure to high level cricket in the IPL. We need to understand that the talent is not as deep as we think. These new players like Imam, Azhar Ali (oldish new), Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Asif Ali, etc are no where near world level.

1) Playing 90s cricket while all the other teams are keeping up with the times
Our inability to rotate strike and understand the importance of keeping up with the RRR or scoring a run a ball under ALL circumstances is the biggest reason Pakistan is not competitive in my opinion. This is not a new problem so I don't know why it's so difficult for management to identify this and communicate it to the players to focus on playing aggressive cricket and stop all the nonsense dot balls, playing yourself in only to get out after scoring your 80 ball 50, putting pressure on the batsman on the other end with your 'tuk, tuk', etc.

2) Mentally weak cricketers
Most of our crickets succumb to pressure because they don't have confidence and the mental fortitude to face adverse situations. The players have this fear of failure instead of just going out there and playing positive cricket. When they walk out to bat they seem to not be able to cope with the pressure of the RRR, the situation or simply staying composed when the going gets tough. Even when bowling or fielding they let the pressure get the best of them. With all the fielding practices and drills they do there is no excuse for them to suddenly become crappy fielders.