There was a time when the Pakistan men’s cricket team feared the world for its sheer unpredictableness. On his day, he could destroy a rival. On others, they will suddenly, embarrassing. This unexpectedness was his USP because teams were careful to take him. We got a glimpse of this in the 2022 T20 World Cup. Pakistan lost their first two matches against India and Zimbabwe, but then fashioned a turnaround and won four matches on Trott, including the semi against New Zealand, to qualify for the final. Although he did not win the title, his unexpectedness was on full performance.
Can you really blame them?
One can argue that the spark that this team needs can come from anywhere, but no one really knows how to ignite it. It seems very rarely that Pakistan’s cricketers have been inspired these days. Can you really blame them, though? After all, there is no clear blueprint in place for the future. Internal politics, alleged government intervention, frequent chopping and changing coaches, assistant employees, captains, selectors and board presidents, a domestic cricket structure, which according to many people in the country, has no meaning, jointly, with allegations of clix in the national team, is like a packed, which is as a pack.
What we see from Pakistan these days is mostly cricket. It is an open secret that cricket, which is still the most popular game in Pakistan, is in a regrettable position, like another former jewel in his game crown: field hockey. The difference is that the money in cricket in Pakistan is higher than that of hockey, thanks to the ICC revenue on a large scale. But Pakistan cricket requires the most stability, which is in the entire board. The problem is that his cricket and his politics is almost combined in the hip and the political scenario is almost constant upheaval position, it is difficult to imagine light at the end of this tunnel. In many ways, one of Pakistan’s largest cricket legends, Imran Khan’s collapse, who, who, who has returned from the verge of elimination to win the 1992 ODI World Cup to his own way to return to his own way, is representative of the fall of the pack cricket, which is accurately and growing. There is a huge lesson to learn: politics and sports can overlap, but if they become equal, it can be a recipe for disaster. Imran cricketer was a hero. Imran politician is a person behind bars accused of many wrongdoings, in which he damages the game that he lived and breathed. But let’s face it: no person is responsible, it is a collective failure, with rotting over time.
Naqvi’s answer
In August last year, the current president of PCB, Mohsin Naqvi, was asked by a journalist by a journalist how much he knows about cricket really. A businessman-turned-manner, Naqvi said, “Time will tell how much I know about cricket, but we are here to give.”
Six months below the line, when the host Pakistan was removed from the ICC Champions Trophy running with zero win, it is not surprising that Naqvi is being reminded that he and his administration have failed to distribute till now. There are voices of cricket in that chorus, but there is an undisputed political overtone again for the allegations. Imran Khan issued a statement through his sister, Alima Khan, saying, “… cricket will eventually be destroyed when the favorite is kept in a decision -making position … In whatever situation he (Mohsin Naqvi) is appointed (Ko), he messes up about it.”
NAQVI also serves as an internal minister of Pakistan, a post held since March 2024. However, someone wonders how much time he has to see in cricketing matters, it does not prove in any way that cricket cannot be rich in Pakistan under the present regime.
New rule, new rules
Million-dollar questions are: How long will the current regime last? And what will be the implications of their policies? After all, almost every time the government changes, a new PCB president is brought. In the last three and a half years, from September 2021 till date, there are four separate presidents in the Pakistan Cricket Board. It included an experienced Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja, who had taken over 15 months after Imran Khan was appointed by Imran Khan in September 2021 by Imran Khan and appointed by Imran Khan. These music-chairs, which are almost a de-facto criteria in cricket administration in the country, have had a direct trickle-down effect on assistant employees and players over the years, and eventually on the performance on the ground. Every time there is a new rule with its ad hoc committees, there is a danger of all the work done by the previous administration being done. Every time this practice of throwing the child out with bath water is severely damaging a game that was once the pride of Pakistan’s sports performances.
If administrators who do not have much subject matter expertise, become dictators, face the entire system face a foggy future. In October last year, about a week before Pakistan’s Limited Over Tour, South African cricketer-cook, Gary Kirsten, who made India famous for the 2011 ODI World Cup Trophy, resigned as Pakistan’s White-Ball Coach. According to news reports, the main reasons, “a power-struggle with PCB” and “coaches were being taken away from the selection powers”. The reins of limited overs teams (for some time) were handed over to the Test team coach, former Australian cricketer Jason Gillespie, who took the Test team shortly before this to win a historic series against England.
Unparemism, once a boon, now a curse
In November that year, Mohsin Naqvi told the media in Karachi that Kirsten had done “some violations” for his contract, but no details were provided. A month later, Gillespi handed over to his papers. It was about 13 days ago before Pakistan’s 2-match Test series started on 26 December with South Africa. According to news reports, Gilespi refused to ride his flight to South Africa as he was so attached to the way he was treated. Reports coming out of the Pakistan camp suggested all types of high-granality, in which teams were being announced without input from the head coach, the contract of an assistant coach was being terminated with “absolutely zero communication” from the board and the National Selection Committee was changed arbitrarily, in which the head coach was kept in darkness with a chosen dodge. Sudden changes have been made in the selection committees, the domestic cricket structure has been replaced several times, by 2019, with Imran Khan in power, the structure was completely overhell. According to Pakistan’s reports, it was the fifth time since 1995 when the PCB Constitution was amended.
Changing policies only create chaos according to the craze and fans of different regime. The irony is that unpredictory, which was once the greatest on-field power of Pakistan cricket, is also the biggest ogre to its administration today. And this is nothing new. After all, the country’s political scenario has been an unexpected for a long time, and politics and Pakistan have gone into hand – since the time the President was the patron of the board and appointed the PCB president to the powers who were transferring to the Prime Minister. The appointment of the Speaker has always been seen as a political decision. Ramiz Raja was removed as the president in December 2022, when his tenure survived about two years, when Shahbaz Sharif was in his first term as Prime Minister.
‘It started in 2019’
Najam Sethi, a journalist and cricket administrator, has three separate words as PCB president, who have been appointed by Prime Ministers like Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif. Therefore, uncertainly, when he leveling the allegations against Imran Khan said that “in 2019 (Pakistan Cricket) began to decline”, it was with the expected lines. However it should be asked: How much has changed under the new regime? Was the appointment of legendary cricketer Waqar Younis as an advisor to the current chairman was not in controversy, was the former fast bowler on board as the patron of a domestic team within three weeks of bringing it on the board? Some selection calls for the ongoing Champions Trophy were not surprising and were questioned by many people? Did not all -rounder Khushdil Shah himself say that he was surprised that he had cut for the tournament?
You do not need to follow the game very closely to know that Pakistan cricket has been a harsh. In September last year, after Bangladesh whitewashed in a home test series, the team came up 8th in the ICC Test team rankings with its lowest rating points since 1965 (76). He is currently ranked 7th in the tests, ranked 7th in T20I and 3rd in Odis, although he has not cut the semeet of the last three versions of the ODI World Cup. Words such as “clules management” and “lack of discipline” are used by former cricketers to describe the current status of cases regularly; Babar Azam, who was a long time captain, has been accused of bias in the selection of the team; And now, after exiting the Champions Trophy, the T20I team has a new captain, in which both Babur and regular captain Mohammad Rizwan have been demolished.
Nobody wants a mess
Amidst such anarchy, the immediate need is to join the game for more former cricketers. But the sad thing is that what the system is, it is unlikely that anyone worth their salt will want to be a part of this dirt. Ask the legendary Wasim Akram who is ready to help Pakistan cricketers “free”, but is not ready to become a selector or head coach, as he “does not want to face humiliation”.
You do not have to look beyond this to understand why cricket is getting stuck in Pakistan.
(The author is a former sports editor and primetime sports news anchor. He is currently a columnist, features writer and stage actor)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
