There was a time when the Pakistan men’s cricket team was feared around the globe for its sheer unpredictability. On their day, they could annihilate an opponent. On others, they would put up sudden, shambolic performances. That unpredictability was their USP because teams were wary of taking them on. We got a glimpse of this at 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 the trot, including the semis against New Zealand, to qualify for the final. Though they didn’t win the title, their unpredictability was on full display.
Can You Really Blame Them?
One might argue that the spark that this team needs can come from anywhere, but no one really knows how to ignite it. Very little seems to be inspiring Pakistan’s cricketers these days. Can you really blame them, however? After all, there doesn’t seem to be any clear blueprint in place for the future. Internal politics, alleged overt government interference, constant chopping and changing of coaches, support staff, captains, selectors and Board Chairpersons, an overhauled domestic cricket structure, which, according to many in the country, made no sense, combined with allegations of cliques in the national team, seem to have punctured multiple holes in the vessel that is Pakistan cricket, leaving it leaking like a sieve, running out of lifeblood.
What we see these days from Pakistan is mostly templated cricket. It’s an open secret that cricket, which is still the most popular sport in Pakistan, is in a sorry state, a lot like another former jewel in their sporting crown: field hockey. The difference is that the money in cricket in Pakistan is more than that in hockey, thanks largely to ICC revenue. But what Pakistan cricket needs the most is stability, across the board. The trouble is, with their cricket and their politics being almost joint at the hip and the political landscape being in a state of almost constant turmoil, it’s tough to imagine light at the end of this tunnel. In many ways, the downfall of one of Pakistan’s biggest cricketing legends, Imran Khan, the man who inspired a bunch of supremely talented cricketers to claw their way back from the brink of elimination to win the 1992 ODI World Cup, is representative of the fall of Pakistan cricket, which has found itself inextricably and increasingly intertwined with the politics of the land. In there is a huge lesson to learn: politics and sport can overlap, but if they become the same, it could be a recipe for disaster. Imran the cricketer was a hero. Imran the politician is a man behind bars being accused of multiple wrongdoings, including hurting the game that he lived and breathed. But let’s face it: no one person is responsible, this has to have been a collective failure, with the rot deepening with time.
Naqvi’s Answer
In August last year, the current Chairman of the PCB, Mohsin Naqvi, was asked point-blank by a journalist how much he realistically knows about cricket. Naqvi, a businessman-turned-politician, shot back saying, “Time will tell how much I know about cricket, but we are here to deliver.”
Six months down the line, when hosts Pakistan were eliminated from the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy with zero wins, it’s not surprising that Naqvi is being reminded that he and his administration have so far failed to deliver. There are cricketing voices in that chorus of course, but there is again an undeniable political overtone to the accusations. Imran Khan issued a statement via his sister, Aleema Khan, saying, “…cricket will be eventually destroyed when favourites are put in decision-making positions…whichever position he (Mohsin Naqvi) is appointed (to), he makes a mess of it.”
Naqvi also serves as the Interior Minister of Pakistan, a post he has held since March 2024. Though one has to wonder just how much time he has to look into cricketing affairs, this does not in any way prove that cricket can’t prosper in Pakistan under the current regime.
New Regimes, New Rules
The million-dollar questions are these: Just how long will the current regime last? And what will be the implications of their policies? After all, almost every time there is a change in government, a new PCB chairman is brought in. In the last three and a half years, from September 2021 to date, the Pakistan Cricket Board has had as many as four different chairmen. This included veteran Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja, who held office for 15 months, after having been appointed by Imran Khan in September 2021, in his capacity of Prime Minister and PCB patron-in-chief. This musical-chairs that is almost a de-facto norm in cricket administration in the country has had a direct trickle-down effect over the years on the support staff and the players, and ultimately on the performances on the ground. Every time there is a new regime with its ad-hoc committees, all the work done by the previous administration is in danger of being binned. This practice of throwing the baby out with the bathwater every time is severely hurting a game that was once the pride of Pakistan’s sporting repertoire.
If administrators who don’t have much subject matter expertise become dictators, the whole system faces a bleak future. In October last year, just about a week before Pakistan’s limited overs tour of Australia, former South African cricketer-turned-coach, Gary Kirsten, who famously coached India to the 2011 ODI World Cup trophy, resigned as Pakistan’s white-ball coach barely six months into the job. The major reasons, as per news reports, were “a power-struggle with the PCB” and “coaches being stripped of selection powers”. The reins of the limited overs teams (for some time) were handed to the Test team coach, former Australian cricketer Jason Gillespie, who had taken the Test team to a historic series win against England shortly before this.
Unpredictability, Once A Boon, Now A Curse
In November that year, Mohsin Naqvi told the media in Karachi that Kirsten had “made some breaches” to his contract, but no details were provided. A month later, Gillespie handed in his papers. This was just about 13 days before Pakistan’s 2-match Test series with South Africa was to start on December 26. According to news reports, Gillespie refused to board his flight for South Africa because he was so livid with the way he had been treated. Reports that came out of the Pakistan camp suggested all manner of high-handedness, including teams being announced without inputs from the head coach, an assistant coach’s contract being terminated with “absolutely zero communication” from the Board and the national selection committee being altered arbitrarily, with the head coach kept in the dark over the complexion of a chosen squad. There have been sudden changes made to selection committees, the domestic cricket structure has been revamped multiple times, until in 2019, with Imran Khan in power, the structure was completely overhauled. According to reports from Pakistan, this was the fifth time since 1995 that the PCB constitution was amended.
Policies changing according to the whims and fancies of various regimes only led to chaos. Ironically, unpredictability, which was once Pakistan cricket’s biggest on-field strength, is also the biggest ogre plaguing its administration today. And it’s not something new. After all, the political landscape of the country has been an unpredictable one for a very long time, and politics and Pakistan cricket have gone hand in hand – from the time when the President was the board patron and appointed the PCB Chairman to those powers shifting to the Prime Minister. The appointment of the Chairman has always been seen as a political decision. Ramiz Raja was removed as Chairman in December 2022 with almost two years left in his tenure, when Shehbaz Sharif was in his first term as Prime Minister.
‘It Started In 2019’
Najam Sethi, a journalist and cricket administrator has had as many as three different terms as the PCB Chairman, having been appointed by Prime Ministers like Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif. So, unsurprisingly, when he levelled accusations against Imran Khan, saying that “the downfall (of Pakistan cricket) started in 2019”, it was along expected lines. One must ask though: how much has changed under the new regime? Was legendary cricketer Waqar Younis’ appointment as advisor to the current Chairman not mired in controversy, with the former fast bowler being made mentor of a domestic team within three weeks of being brought on board? Were some of the selection calls for the ongoing Champions Trophy not surprising and questioned by many? Didn’t all-rounder Khushdil Shah himself say that he was surprised he had made the cut for the tournament?
You don’t need to follow the sport very closely to know that Pakistan cricket’s fall has been a drastic one. In September last year, after they were whitewashed in a home Test series by Bangladesh, the team fell to 8th in the ICC Test team rankings with their lowest rating points since 1965 (76). They are currently in 7th place in Tests, 7th in T20is and 3rd in ODIs, though they haven’t made the semis cut of the last three editions of the ODI World Cup. Terms like “clueless management” and “lack of discipline” are used by former cricketers regularly to describe the current state of affairs; Babar Azam, who was captain for a long time, has been accused of favouritism in team selection; and now, after the Champions Trophy exit, the T20i team has a new captain, with both Babar and regular skipper Mohammad Rizwan being dropped.
Nobody Wants The Mess
Amid chaos like this, the immediate need is for more former cricketers to be involved in the game. But sadly, given what the system is, it’s unlikely anyone worth their salt would want to be a part of this mess. Ask the legendary Wasim Akram who is ready to help Pakistan cricketers “free of charge” but unwilling to be a selector or head coach, because he “doesn’t want to face insults”.
You don’t have to look beyond this to understand why cricket in Pakistan is imploding.
(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