Pakistan cricket has faced several challenges over the years, which have impacted its consistency and global standing. As a long time follower and die hard supporter of Pakistan cricket of the last 20 odd years, I've got a pretty solid grasp of Pakistan cricket not just at the international stage but throughout it's domestic scene also. I've quite honestly never met anyone else who has the same level of passion about every tiny aspect of Pakistan Cricket (though I know you are all out there!) to the point of rummaging the internet for scorecards of grade-2 Muhammed Hanif trophy matches, so hopefully I know a thing or two about Pakistan Cricket.

Inconsistency

Pakistan cricket often displays extreme fluctuations in performance, which can be attributed to an inconsistent team selection policy and lack of mental toughness under pressure situations. This has honestly been one of if not the biggest obstacle to Pakistan Cricket's consistency. With constant shifts and changes of Chairman, coaches, captains and players, consistency is reduced to a mere fallacy when it comes to Pakistan Cricket and it is something that other boards would never dream of making an issue yet it plagues Pakistan year after year with no hope of change in sight. Which other big cricketing nation is so attached to their government that as the political leadership changes so does the PCB chairman? Imagine if every time the Tories changed leader a new ECB chairman came in!

Looking at the past year itself Pakistan has had changes to captaincy, coach and chairman multiple times. No organisation, cricket or not, can hope to achieve consistency and stability with constant changes in leadership. Looking at moments where Pakistan have done well, they have had some sort of stability in captaincy at the very least e.g. Imran Khan 1992, Younis Khan T20 world cup 2009, Pakistan reaching Test No.1 status under Misbah-Ul-Haq. For me personally, the absolute rock bottom has been in the past few weeks where Pakistan have lost both Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie as coaches. 2 of the most well respected and decorated of coaches, gone due to a system that is hellbent on imploding. All of the above are what filter down to the playing field and affect performances. A lack of consistent chairman causes a lack in consistent coach selection and captaincy which means a lack of consistent team building and training which therefore will affect on field performances.

Lack of Domestic Infrastructure:

The domestic cricket structure has long been criticized for its inability to nurture talent consistently. Poor facilities, limited financial support for players, and inadequate competition levels hinder player development. Of course there have been success stories and excellent talent to come through over the years but equally too many fall through or are not nurtured well. The premier first class tournament, the Quad-E-Azam trophy, has produced excellent cricket and players over the years however the teams and players taking part have never been truly consistent. From Government departmental teams to private company teams to regional teams, there has never been a solid base to the system, unlike the English County circuit or Australian States of the Sheffield Shield.

Many regional teams that are funded by the board are therefore less affluent and will not attract the best talent or curate the best facilities. Many regions of the nation are lagging behind with facilities, especially so in more remote areas such as Balochistan, KPK or Gilgit. In years gone by we would have seen international games at places like Sialkot, Peshawar, interior Sindh but nowadays all matches seem to be focused on a rotating circuit of Lahore, Karachi, Multan and Rawalpindi. For a nation as large in terms of population, landmass and cricketing riches, it's beyond belief that only about 4-5 stadiums are used for international cricket. Yes I understand the security concern, however this hasn't been such an issue for Pakistan in the last 10 years or so and it seems like not many huge effort have been made to truly extend the game. Doing so would increase funds for more grounds, which mean more money for regions and better pay for players or better yet funding to find talent.

When Imran Khan was in power and he had placed personnel in charge of the PCB, he had advised on a new system of 6 provincial first class teams where the best of the best played against each other, with the hope that this highest level of cricket would shape a truly strong international side. While I wasn't the biggest fan of this I did understand the thought behind it and I did trust in his vision. Alas it only lasted a few years as he was then ousted from government and therefore, as Pakistan cricket goes, the chairman of the PCB. Unfortunately the idea just never worked out as the nation's number of professional cricketers were too numerous to only encompass 6 first class teams. It meant regions like Balochistan barely fielded players from Balochistan and instead became a bit of a 'filler' team where players mostly from Punjab and Sindh who didn't quite make their own respective provincial teams would just slot in to. As such Balochistan Cricket was pushed down and all of those who relied on departmental cricket were left jobless.

The previous system now revived albeit with a few tweaks has seen better reception from players and supporters alike. I just hope it remains consistent. Already the first class system has changed from last season with now 18 teams taking part. If this system can remain as so for at least a few years at least there will be some sort of consistency at the first class level which will filter, both down and up.

Selection:

A subject I am VERY passionate about. Over the years, frequent changes in leadership roles, from captains to coaches and Selectors, have created instability in selection also. It never feels like Pakistan ever truly pick their best squad during a series. Now I know not everyone will ever be happy, there's always going to be someone saying 'what about XYZ cricketer?' But I've never truly seen anyone happy with the squads either.

4 fast bowlers on some of the deadest tracks in history? Lack of any seaming all-rounder? What about the wasted talent and potential? Mohammed Abbas has just taken his 800th pro wicket and where is he for Pakistan? Why is our most experienced batsman only got about 50 test matches to his name? Why don't we invest in long term players who will represent the team for years and years and become experts in Test match cricket? Tests aren't 20 overs where any kid can come in and make a scene, Test match cricket is where careers are made over years and years, look at other nations who give their players LONG careers, England had Broad and Anderson, India used Ishant and Ashwin as well as Kohli, Rohit etc. for years, Aussies had Warner till just now and then of course Lyon, Starc, Cummins, Hazelwood. Cummins debuted the same time as Junaid khan, where is he now? Playing club cricket and coaching, when we could have groomed him to be one of our stalwart test bowlers, even Kohli struggled against him and after he won us the CT17 where did he go? Is this how we treat our heroes? What of Asad Shafiq, who has the most hundred at no.6 in history? He had some bad form and now he's a mentor/coach/selector whatever you wanna call him, when he could have been our Misbah/Younis. Why did our team do so well when we had Misbah and Younis? Because we had stalwart test match seasoned and conditioned players who had played for years and knew how to shepherd a test match. When will we stop picking players for a few years only to drop them? When will actually pick our best players instead of wondering where they are? What's happened to Yasir Shah? Why has the first class system changed nearly every year? Why is the board so attached to politics that when a new regime comes in the board changes head?

Faheem Ashraf who we gave so many chances in the Test team yet when we need a seaming all rounder where is he? Players like Aamer Yamin who could swing it both ways and bat down the order what happened to them? Zafar Gohar who was a young up and coming left arm spinner who is now just taking wickets for fun for Gloucestershire county, where is he? Mohammed Asghar who was also one of our psl finds as a left arm spinner where is he? Players like Sahibzada Farhan and Kamran Ghulam who top the domestic charts every year are only now being considered in their 30s? Fawad Alam who you wasted his career for 11 years only to give him a few matches and throw him away? Sarfraz Ahmed who scores hundreds for fun in domestic why was he thrown out when he was the perfect middle order batsman we needed? Harris Sohail who was one of the most consistent middle order ODI batsmen for us where is he?

Just now we lost a T-20 series to South Africa when a load of our best and most experienced players were at home playing the National T20 cup instead, why? Shadab, Nawaz, Fakhar, Faheem, Naseem, etc. all not playing, why? Yes groom youngsters but equally keep enough experienced players in the side.

Time and time again we have questions but no answers, Players who come and make starts and then disappear, players who fall out of form or get injured and just disappear, young talent that just gets side-lined, as fans we deserve and demand answers. Why were our pitches so dead and pathetic? Why did we only then see success when we actually made spinning pitches that suit our home conditions? Why couldn't we have always done that knowing how well we did in the UAE? Sort it out and get the right people on, both players and staff.

Dependence on a Few Star Players:

A lack of depth in the squad often puts undue pressure on a handful of star players. This reliance results in team collapses when key players underperform. In recent time when Babar or Rizwan haven't performed the team rarely go on to win and our middle order is consistently looking paper thin.

T20 Prioritization Over Longer Formats:

A growing emphasis on T20 cricket has diverted attention from the longer formats, leading to subpar performances in Test and ODI formats. Even there, we were once a T20 powerhouse and one of the top ranked teams, to now an all time low of 7th and a lagging mentality where out batsmen are struggling to keep up with modern strike rates.

But coming to the point of first class cricket. Our nation tends to pigeon hole cricketers too early. Shadab Khan actually has an excellent all round Test match record but for seemingly no reason was dropped and only fielded for white ball. Such examples are numerous across the board but above all else, first class cricket is what truly builds a base for a player. Using Shadab as an example again, his bowling has gone downhill over the years but why? One thing that has stood out is his lack of first class cricket. In the recently concluded Quad-E-Azam trophy, he came out as one of the best all rounders in the tournament. Whether it's bowling a bucket load of overs or facing hundreds of deliveries, first class cricket is always the bread and butter of a truly seasoned cricketer in their prime.

Conclusion

To conclude, the above are a few key areas of critique that I believe have contributed to the difficulties in Pakistan Cricket. Were it up to me I'd probably even introduce a power hitting coach! But alas I am a mere fan and my rants won't amass to anything but it's nice to just get it off my chest. As with all Pakistan fans we only want to see our nation winning and doing well, here's to a better and more consistent future. Pakistan Zindabad!