Beneath gray skies on the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, veteran Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al Hasan smashed Pakistani leg-spin bowler Abrar Ahmed for a boundary that sealed his crew’s six-wicket win within the second Check match and a historic first males’s Check collection win over the house aspect.
Shakib punched the air and embraced his teammate Mushfiqur Rahim as the remainder of their teammates rushed onto the bottom to affix within the celebrations on Tuesday afternoon. Earlier than the collection, Bangladesh had misplaced 12 of the 13 matches between the 2 sides.
As Pakistan captain Shan Masood and his aspect trudged off the bottom, the darkish clouds mirrored the doom and gloom surrounding Pakistan cricket. The lads’s aspect had simply been clean-swept in a house Check collection for less than the second time of their historical past.
Pakistan haven’t received a Check match at house since February 2021 – a winless streak of 10 video games.
What has gone fallacious with the Pakistan cricket crew?
Traditionally, Pakistan could have been considered one of cricket’s powerhouses, however their latest performances have nosedived throughout all codecs of the sport. The triumphant runs on the ICC Males’s 50-over World Cup in 1992 and the T20 World Cup in 2009 are a distant reminiscence.
Be it defeats in opposition to lower-ranked sides in bilateral collection or shock leads to world occasions, Pakistani cricket followers have seen all of it lately.
Pakistan’s final notable efficiency got here in November 2022 on the T20 World Cup in Australia, the place they ultimately misplaced a one-sided ultimate in opposition to England.
What have Pakistan’s outcomes been like since November 2022?
Pakistan did not transcend the primary spherical on the T20 World Cup 2024 once they infamously misplaced to cricket novices the USA, who solely certified for the event as one of many co-hosts.
Within the lead-up to the event, Pakistan misplaced a T20 match in opposition to Eire for the primary time.
On the Cricket World Cup 2023 in India, Pakistan misplaced 5 of their 9 matches and exited the event on the group stage.
Of their final 5 Check collection, Pakistan have received one – away to Sri Lanka in July 2023.
In numbers:
- Exams: Performed 12, received 2, misplaced 8, drawn 2
- ODIs: Performed 25, received 14, misplaced 10, no end result 1
- T20s: Performed 54, received 25, misplaced 26, tied 1, no end result 2
What occurred to cricket in Pakistan? After I performed the PSL, the usual of that league was super, the gamers had an excellent work ethic and the kids on show had been magic.
What’s taking place there?
— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) August 26, 2024
Can somebody clarify why Pakistan have been so poor?
It’s arduous, however Al Jazeera requested Micky Arthur, who was Pakistan’s head coach from 2016 to 2019 and neglected affairs as crew director in 2023.
Arthur believes Pakistan don’t have any scarcity of “high quality gamers”.
“There are some unimaginable gamers [on the Pakistan side], however what the crew lacks is stability,” Arthur mentioned moments after Pakistan’s loss within the second Check.
“Stability comes from the highest: in crew choice, consistency in gamers’ roles and ensuring each participant understands his position,” he defined.
“The instability inside Pakistan cricket creates chaos, and the gamers finally begin enjoying for themselves as a result of they have no idea what the following regime has in thoughts. It breeds mediocrity.”
Bangladesh rockets to fourth place within the #WTC25 standings after their historic collection win over Pakistan! 🇧🇩👏#BCB #Cricket #Bangladesh #PAKvBAN #WTC25 pic.twitter.com/eIpZLVfSTx
— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) September 3, 2024
What’s this ‘instability’?
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been by an upheaval since late 2022 when then-Chairman Ramiz Raja was sacked by the federal authorities. The nation’s cricket ruling physique has since been led by three chairmen, every bringing with him a variety of modifications to backroom employees and crew management.
The present PCB head, Mohsin Naqvi, has been in cost since February 6, and he additionally performs the position of Pakistan’s inside minister.
How has it affected the crew’s captaincy?
Pakistan’s ignominious group-stage exit from the ODI World Cup in November was adopted by their all-format captain Babar Azam’s resignation.
The PCB determined to separate the captain’s position and handed the reins of the Check crew to Masood whereas quick bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was entrusted with the T20 management.
Nevertheless, when Naqvi took over as PCB chairman, he sacked Afridi after only one collection and reinstated Babar.
As for the ODI captaincy, the matter stays up within the air as Pakistan haven’t performed within the format since November.
How many individuals have coached Pakistan since November 2022?
Seven! In chronological order, they’re: Saqlain Mushtaq, Abdul Rehman (interim coach), Grant Bradburn, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Mahmood (interim coach), Gary Kirsten (present white-ball coach) and Jason Gillespie (present red-ball coach).
Arthur was Pakistan’s coach once they received their final ICC title, the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, and he believes the revolving door coverage is having a detrimental impact on the crew.
“Completely different coaches carry completely different concepts and have completely different roles for the gamers, ” the 56-year-old former South Africa coach mentioned.
“It results in uncertainty, inconsistency and forces gamers to start out enjoying for themselves,” Arthur mentioned.
Pakistan have a month to get it collectively. Bangladesh performed some wonderful cricket. England, who received 3-0 on their final go to in 2022, will probably be a fair better problem. There is a severe menace of again to again whitewashes at house. There’s little or no time…however what you alter?
— Aatif Nawaz (@AatifNawaz) September 3, 2024
Who’re among the underperforming big-name gamers?
Babar, Afridi and Shadab Khan.
Arthur believes these three are “undoubtedly excellent gamers” however may be judged solely on their kind.
“Generally gamers get wrapped up in pondering what’s occurring round them as a substitute of specializing in their kind,” Arthur mentioned.
In Check cricket, Babar’s and Afridi’s numbers have taken a extreme blow and former vice captain and limited-overs specialist Shadab has did not reside as much as expectations in ICC occasions. Listed here are their cross-format numbers since 2023:
Babar Azam (batting)
- Matches: 57
- Innings: 61
- Runs: 2,172
- Highest rating: 151
- Common 37.44
- Strike charge 88.25
- 100s: 3
- 50s: 16
Shaheen Shah Afridi (bowling)
- Matches: 49
- Innings: 54
- Wickets: 96
- Greatest bowling figures: 5-54
- Common: 24.19
- Financial system charge: 5.1
- Strike charge: 28.4
- 5-wicket hauls: 1
Shadab Khan (all-round)
- Matches: 37
- Runs: 462
- Highest rating: 48
- Batting common: 18.48
- 100s: 0
- 50s: 0
- Wickets: 24
- Greatest bowling figures: 4-27
- Bowling common: 48.41
- 5-wicket hauls: 0
How did the captain react to the defeat?
Masood, the Check captain, mentioned he was “extraordinarily disenchanted” after the loss in opposition to Bangladesh.
Right here’s how he summed it up: “We had been excited for the house season. The story has been the identical as Australia, and we’ve got not learnt our classes. We thought we had been enjoying good cricket in Australia however not doing the job. That’s one thing we have to work on. It has occurred 4 instances in my tenure that we’ve got let the opposition again into the competition after dominating.”
5 losses in 5 Exams with Masood as captain. Ought to he resign?
Masood has struggled with kind as a batter since taking over the Check captain’s position. He has made 286 runs in 5 matches and struck three half-centuries with a excessive rating of 60.
However the tall left-handed batter is to not be blamed – not fully, in accordance with Arthur.
“Shan Masood goes to be an excellent captain, however he must be given the time to develop his major position of scoring runs,” the South African coach mentioned.
“That’s the place the coaches and assist employees are available.
“They want to have the ability to take that strain off him so he can ship on the sector. When a captain is assured in his personal recreation and feels supported, he finally ends up enjoying significantly better.”
Arthur mentioned Masood is the “proper individual” who generally is a excellent captain if he’s given time and assist.
How has PCB chair responded?
Naqvi predicted extra modifications after Pakistan’s loss to India on the T20 World Cup in June and famously referred to as the motion a “surgical procedure”.
After which after the loss within the first Check in opposition to Bangladesh, he mentioned: “The issue is the [team] choice committee has no pool of gamers to select from.
“I spoke of surgical procedure as a result of we have to repair our issues, however after we have a look at how you can resolve them, we don’t have any participant pool which we are able to draw from. The entire system was a multitude.”
