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 Take a look at match and a historic first males’s Take a look at collection win over the house facet.
Shakib punched the air and embraced his teammate Mushfiqur Rahim as the remainder of their teammates rushed onto the bottom to hitch 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 facet trudged off the bottom, the darkish clouds mirrored the doom and gloom surrounding Pakistan cricket. The boys’s facet had simply been clean-swept in a house Take a look at collection for under the second time of their historical past.
Pakistan haven’t gained a Take a look at match at house since February 2021 – a winless streak of 10 video games.
What has gone unsuitable with the Pakistan cricket crew?
Traditionally, Pakistan might have been certainly 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 ends in international occasions, Pakistani cricket followers have seen all of it in recent times.
Pakistan’s final notable efficiency got here in November 2022 on the T20 World Cup in Australia, the place they finally misplaced a one-sided last 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 after 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 Take a look at collection, Pakistan have gained one – away to Sri Lanka in July 2023.
In numbers:
- Exams: Performed 12, gained 2, misplaced 8, drawn 2
- ODIs: Performed 25, gained 14, misplaced 10, no consequence 1
- T20s: Performed 54, gained 25, misplaced 26, tied 1, no consequence 2
What occurred to cricket in Pakistan? Once I performed the PSL, the usual of that league was great, the gamers had an excellent work ethic and the children 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 laborious, however Al Jazeera requested Micky Arthur, who was Pakistan’s head coach from 2016 to 2019 and missed affairs as crew director in 2023.
Arthur believes Pakistan haven’t any scarcity of “quality players”.
“There are some incredible players [on the Pakistan side], but what the team lacks is stability,” Arthur mentioned moments after Pakistan’s loss within the second Take a look at.
“Stability comes from the top: in team selection, consistency in players’ roles and making sure every player understands his role,” he defined.
“The instability within Pakistan cricket creates chaos, and the players ultimately start playing for themselves because they do not know what the next regime has in mind. 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 way of 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 workers and crew management.
The present PCB head, Mohsin Naqvi, has been in cost since February 6, and he additionally performs the function 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 function and handed the reins of the Take a look at crew to Masood whereas quick bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was entrusted with the T20 management.
Nonetheless, 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 after they gained 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.
“Different coaches bring different ideas and have different roles for the players, ” the 56-year-old former South Africa coach mentioned.
“It leads to uncertainty, inconsistency and forces players to start playing for themselves,” Arthur mentioned.
Pakistan have a month to get it collectively. Bangladesh performed some glorious cricket. England, who gained 3-0 on their final go to in 2022, shall be a fair higher problem. There is a critical risk of again to again whitewashes at house. There’s little or no time…however what you modify?
— 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 very good players” however may be judged solely on their kind.
“Sometimes players get wrapped up in thinking what’s going on around them instead of focusing on their form,” Arthur mentioned.
In Take a look at cricket, Babar’s and Afridi’s numbers have taken a extreme blow and former vice captain and limited-overs specialist Shadab has did not dwell as much as expectations in ICC occasions. Listed below are their cross-format numbers since 2023:
Babar Azam (batting)
- Matches: 57
- Innings: 61
- Runs: 2,172
- Highest rating: 151
- Common 37.44
- Strike price 88.25
- 100s: 3
- 50s: 16
Shaheen Shah Afridi (bowling)
- Matches: 49
- Innings: 54
- Wickets: 96
- Greatest bowling figures: 5-54
- Common: 24.19
- Economic system price: 5.1
- Strike price: 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 Take a look at captain, mentioned he was “extremely disappointed” after the loss in opposition to Bangladesh.
Right here’s how he summed it up: “We were excited for the home season. The story has been the same as Australia, and we have not learnt our lessons. We thought we were playing good cricket in Australia but not doing the job. That’s something we need to work on. It has happened four times in my tenure that we have let the opposition back into the contest 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 up the Take a look at captain’s function. 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 solely, in accordance with Arthur.
“Shan Masood is going to be a very good captain, but he needs to be given the time to develop his primary role of scoring runs,” the South African coach mentioned.
“That’s the place the coaches and assist workers are available.
“They need to be able to take that pressure off him so he can deliver on the field. When a captain is confident in his own game and feels supported, he ends up playing much better.”
Arthur mentioned Masood is the “right person” 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 “surgery”.
After which after the loss within the first Take a look at in opposition to Bangladesh, he mentioned: “The issue is the [team] choice committee has no pool of gamers to select from.
“I spoke of surgery because we need to fix our problems, but when we look at how to resolve them, we don’t have any player pool which we can draw from. The whole system was a mess.”
