Pakistan cricket is in dire straits.© AFP
Pakistan cricket was reeling Wednesday after its first-ever Test defeats against Bangladesh, the latest in a string of poor performances which have seen the game hit rock bottom. The cricket-mad nation was left in despair after losing the second Test in Rawalpindi by six wickets on Tuesday as Bangladesh swept the series 2-0. It was the 10th winless home Test in a row for former powerhouses Pakistan and came hard on the heels of failing to get out of their groups at both the 50-over and T20 World Cups in the past year.
"It's a huge setback and our cricket is at a crossroads," former Pakistan captain and legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram told AFP. "For a former player and captain, and a lover of the game, I was left embarrassed at the way they have lost from good positions. I simply don't get it.
"We are losing consistently on home turf and that says a lot about the quality of our cricket," added Akram, who played 104 Tests and 356 one-day internationals for Pakistan.
The defeat to Bangladesh comes hard on the heels of chastening losses against Afghanistan and the USA in the ODI and T20 World Cups respectively. Pakistan also have a dismal record in Tests at home in the past three years -- six defeats and four draws, including England's first-ever 3-0 series sweep there in 2022.
Ominously, in-form England are Pakistan's next visitors and will play three Tests beginning in Multan on October 7. Pakistan are not faring any better away from home, they lost all three Tests in Australia earlier this year -- their sixth successive whitewash there since 1999.
"People have started to hate cricket," former international player and regional coach Basit Ali told AFP. "Bangladesh has shown us the mirror of what we are at international level.
"It's a cliche that wins and losses are part of the game, but this is a seismic shock."
Ali, who played 19 Tests and 50 ODIs for Pakistan, echoed the consensus among fans and commentators that the international team seems disjointed on the field. "Pakistan did not play as a unit and players looked scattered," he said. "It is sad and embarrassing to say that this is Pakistan's team."
The loss also saw the Pakistan side battered by the national press, which said disunity stemmed from problems at the very top. "Pakistan team's rapid downward spiral has been alarming, to say the least," said the Express Tribune newspaper on Wednesday. The sequence of high-profile losses "makes the mind boggle", it added.
'No quick fix'
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is currently chaired by the country's interior minister Mohsin Naqvi. "Since 1998, hand-picked favourites of the respective ruling regimes in the country have taken turns as PCB chairmen to run the game in their own clueless manner, only to ruin it," the Express Tribune said.
Other analysts also say frequent changes at the top of the PCB, which has had five chairmen in the past three years, have impeded progress. "With the PCB's top management changing with every change of guard at political level, there is has been no consistent framework," said the Dawn newspaper.
There have also been constant switches of captains and coaching staff while the domestic system of tournaments has had countless overhauls. PCB chairman Naqvi himself called for "surgery in the system" after the T20 World Cup exit.
"We need to fix our problems," he said last month. "But when we look at how to resolve them, we don't have any solid data or player pool which we can draw from."
Ex-skipper Akram echoed Naqvi's analysis. "The quality of our cricket has gone down with no grassroots activity, so we do not have proper back-ups," he said. "We have a lot to work on," Akram said. "As a cricket nation we have to be patient, that's the key. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix."