Cricket SOS

It is a tale that is so familiar by now that it is almost not news. Pakistan’s cricketers are simply unable to approach something even resembling consistency in their play. The performance that the team put up in the three-game T20 series in Bangladesh, which concluded yesterday, was almost inexplicable, given that this same team had whitewashed Bangladesh in the T20 series played in Pakistan in May-June. That was just a month ago. While this series was played away from home, it is not like the team had to travel to England or Australia, where conditions are dramatically different. And yet, the men in green lost the first two games of the series, and Bangladesh got their first-ever T20 series win against Pakistan. The first match was dominated by Bangladesh, who bowled Pakistan out for just 110 runs and chased down the measly target with seven wickets and over four overs to spare. The second T20 saw Pakistan unable to chase down a 134-run target, a very achievable total in the modern game. Bangladesh’s relatively low total had more to do with the slow pitch than any outstanding performances from the Pakistani bowlers. Pakistan’s batters did not seem to take note of the struggles of their Bangladeshi counterparts and adjust accordingly and the top order simply caved in.

Pakistan ended up losing five wickets for just 15 runs and, despite a late 51 runs of 32 balls by Faheem Ashraf, the match was pretty much settled at the outset of the run chase. Bangladesh’s pacer Shoriful Islam was the pick of the bowlers on the night, claiming three wickets for just 17 runs and an economy rate of just 4.25. These are splendid figures for a T20 game. In the aftermath of the loss, pundits and former players have questioned just how this team will fare in the upcoming 2026 T20 World Cup, due to be held in India and Sri Lanka in February-March. A former test cricketer has called the series defeat a wake-up call for the PCB and questioned why Pakistan’s batting lineup struggled so badly against ordinary Bangladeshi bowlers. People are right to ask how a team that struggles against medium-pacers on a slow wicket will fare against Australia, New Zealand and India. These squads, at least on paper, have more talent.

However, if one zooms out from this defeat and the upcoming T20 World Cup, it becomes clear that Pakistani cricket is now in the middle of a prolonged crisis and decline. It should be noted that last year, Bangladesh defeated Pakistan in a test match and a test series for the first time ever. A year on, and they have done the same in the T20 format. Combine this with the nation’s abysmal showing in this year’s ICC Champions Trophy and one begins to see that the ‘shock losses’ are no longer all that shocking. Pakistan has always counted on outstanding talent to cover up for its systemic issues, but the well seems to be running dry, highlighting problems in domestic cricket too. One would have thought that private T20 leagues, such as the PSL, would bring more money into the game while also providing emerging talent with a great platform. This does not appear to have been the case. Those in charge of the game must realise that Pakistan is now at risk of becoming a perennially low-ranked cricket team and take emergency measures to prevent this outcome.