Pakistan Cricket Team: Pakistan Cricket is in a serious crisis! A country known for producing the World’s fastest bowler, a country introducing the reverse swing in cricket, a country of Wasim Akram, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and many more legends is starving for a home series win!
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In recent years, the Pakistan Cricket Team has posed challenges to some of the big names in the cricket world. However, that all came in the white ball cricket rather than in red ball cricket. In the last 34 months, Pakistan have only managed to win three test matches out of seventeen and that against Sri Lanka.
Most recently, they lost a test series against Bangladesh at home for the first time in history. This was arguably the lowest of Pakistan Cricket that they lost a home test series to Bangladesh.
There are a couple of boxes of concern in the management and a couple of boxes in the players’ form. Let’s take a look at the points of concern of Pakistan Cricket’s downfall:
Unsettled Pakistan Cricket Board and Management
The PCB is quite popular in the cricketing world, not for ideally good reasons. The PCB chairmen keep changing, the management group keeps shuffling and this heavily impacts the ideology of the team.
The changes from chairmen to coaches to captains have really impacted the rhythm of the board. Some reports even exposed the corruption in the management while some other reports revealed the internal politics and the blame game inside the management and in the selection process as well.
All this changes the players’ minds regularly, and the team never gets on one page.
Insecurities in Players and Captains
When the board members change at regular intervals, the players in the team are sure to get insecure. PCB is failing to feel safe to their players and this is hampering the team performance. Players are playing more for their place in the team, not for the team to win. A source from PCB said, “The players are more focused on securing their own positions rather than thinking about the team’s performance.”
A year back, Babar Azam resigned from the Captaincy in all the formats and Shaheen was announced as the captain of the side. Just after a series loss in New Zealand, the management took away the captaincy from Shaheen and this is what happens regularly in the Pakistan Cricket Team.
Shan Masood is the captain of the test side and Pakistan have lost all six matches played under his captaincy.
Batting Over-relying on Babar Azam
Pakistan had a number of great batters on their side in history and Babar Azam is one of them and probably the one who is still in the team. Pakistan do have good batters presently but most of the time, the team looks up to Babar Azam and if he fails, the team fails.
He is not only the team’s savior, but also the most loved and most criticized player in the team at the same time. This adds a lot of load on his shoulders and keeps adding pressure. in his last 18 innings in the test format, he hasn’t scored a fifty, and the Pakistan team has suffered a lot.
This must change if Pakistan wants their cricket to improve. There are other players and this is the time when they need to stand up and ease down the ONLY BABAR factor from the team.
Pakistan cricket team’s fitness levels
Concerns have surfaced regarding the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) player development program, as questions about its effectiveness continue to grow. The PCB has openly recognized the scarcity of new talent in the country, which is contributing to ongoing challenges in the team’s performance. This shortage forces the board to persist with players even when they fail to meet expectations.
The lack of fresh talent puts additional pressure on the existing squad, as underperforming players remain in the lineup with limited alternatives available. This has raised concerns about the long-term sustainability of Pakistan’s cricketing success, as reliance on a stagnant pool of players leaves little room for growth or improvement.
Moreover, player fitness has emerged as a critical issue. Reports suggest a significant decline in the physical conditioning of the team, which has led to frequent injuries and a noticeable dip in their performance levels on the field. This decline in fitness is becoming a major concern for the PCB, as it further hampers the team’s ability to compete at the highest level.
Conclusion: There are a lot of issues going on at the same time in the Pakistan Cricket Board that is affecting the team’s output. The board can start things by providing the players with good fitness programs, not only for the international level players but also for the domestic players.
Second, the board, coaches, and the players of the team need to be on one page. This can happen with regular meetings and a good supportive environment around the camp.
Last, but not least, each player of the team should be clear of all thoughts and focused on one united goal i.e., to play their game and match it with the team’s requirements. These drills will improve many problems in the squad.
