What's wrong with Pakistan's cricket team?
Dramatic downfall of previous powerhouse blamed on poor management and appointments of regime favourites at governing body the PCB
A cricketing powerhouse for decades, Pakistan's national team have suddenly found themselves on a sticky wicket. This month Pakistan suffered a shocking 2-0 home Test series defeat to Bangladesh, a country they have beaten in every previous Test encounter.
And that outcome is far more than an unlucky fluke. The Pakistani men's side have not won a Test match at home since February 2021: "a winless streak of 10 games", said Al Jazeera.
Following their defeat to Bangladesh, Pakistan fell to number eight in the ICC Test rankings: their worst position in nearly six decades. Their recent performances have "nosedived across all formats" of cricket, with poor management, political instability and the chaotic churn in coaches and captains all blamed for the downfall.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Just not cricket
Among Pakistan's nearly 240 million people, cricket is by far the most popular sport. It "cuts across all divides in society", which gives it "enormous cultural and political cachet", said Eastern Eye. Players are "celebrated as national heroes" – some, like former captain and now jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, even ascend to the top levels of political power off the back of their sporting glory.
But this year, Pakistan failed to qualify for the Super 8 round of the T20 World Cup after losing the group stage matches to rivals India and the non-Test playing USA. They also failed to get out of the group stages at the 50-over World Cup. Perhaps their last notable run was during the T20 World Cup in 2022, when they eventually lost a one-sided final to England.
In the past two years alone, Pakistani cricket has "ploughed through four coaches, three board heads, three captains and numerous formats of the domestic competition", said Agence France-Presse. Regional analysts have said the repeated upheaval is due to a system that "rides on the whims of politicians" rather than the best interests of the game.
Khan recently issued a statement from prison, describing the country's cricketing woes as a result of the same political forces he alleges are behind his conviction. "Favourites have been imposed to run a technical sport like cricket. What are Mohsin Naqvi's qualifications?" he said, referring to the current chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), who has a second full-time job as interior minister.
The "incongruity" of Naqvi's dual roles was highlighted when he hosted a recent press conference, discussing both a deadly militant attack and a cricket game.
The PCB has also been accused of "favouring" certain players, said the Hindustan Times, and Shan Masood's "lacklustre captaincy" has failed to turn things around for the Test team.
Decades in the making
The "Pakistan team's rapid downward spiral has been alarming, to say the least", said the Express Tribune. The recent series of high-profile losses "makes the mind boggle". But for critics of the game, "the pattern has been all too obvious for nearly two decades".
"Ad hocism has taken root" in the PCB – little surprise in a nation "increasingly shorn of democratic values", said the Karachi-based English language newspaper. The ruling regime has "hand-picked" favourites to lead the PCB, to "run the game in their own clueless manner, only to ruin it".
This politically motivated interference in the sport "has a knock-on effect on team performance", said Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi, cricket journalist and former media manager of the PCB, the governing body. "When we have chaos and chronic instability within the management of the board it will reflect in the on-field performances," he said on France 24.
Chaos is "prevalent" both on and off the field, said the Express Tribune, and domestic cricket pitches are in a "poor state", which leaves batsmen and bowlers unprepared for competitive international cricket. More and more leading players choose to head off to international T20 leagues because the money is better. Their "continuous absence" has taken its toll on the PCB's "much-trumpeted flagship project", the Pakistan Super League.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's cricket bosses are "sitting pretty in their cushy jobs, handed to them in a platter by the respective regimes". They have no time nor inclination to "set things right", said the Express Tribune; they are "busy working on their own respective agendas": saving "their own skin and seat, or making good money at the expense of the country's cricket".
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.
-
'You're doomed'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Colombo's wetlands: how the 'lungs' of Sri Lanka's capital are being restored
The revival of the ecosystems could prove a 'valuable lesson' for the world
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: October 2, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Is it time for Anthony Joshua to retire?
After his latest brutal defeat, British boxing's 'poster boy' has a difficult choice to make
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
After Tua injury, can NFL make progress on concussions?
Today's Big Question Dolphins QB faces calls to retire
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Cop benched after NFL star handcuffed in traffic stop
Speed Read A Miami-Dade police officer detained Dolphins star Tyreek Hill before the game
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The worst baseball franchises of the Wild Card era
The Explainer These teams have consistently failed to find a winning formula
By David Faris Published
-
Should American pro sports ditch their player drafts?
Talking Points Why the NWSL is embracing free agency for new players
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Will a death at the CrossFit Games change the sport?
Today's Big Question CrossFitter Lazar Dukic drowned during a competition earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Raygun: heir to Eddie the Eagle?
Talking Point Australian Olympic breakdancer Rachael Gunn has become 'a worldwide meme'
By The Week UK Published
-
Looking ahead to the new and returning events at the 2028 Summer Olympics
In the Spotlight Flag football, squash and the obstacle course will debut alongside returning competitions
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published