1/14 Hysterical responses on each loss we end up with. Over estimation what we do & once we don’t get the results we become counter reactive. Pakistan’s loss to Eng was abysmal. It warrants introspection. Yes. Has Pak being a consistent Test team since 1952-53. No.
2/14 1950s an excellent leader we had AH Kardar, there were back-ended events enhancing the patriotism. Selection issues were rife even then. With Hanif, Fazal. Imtiaz, Khan, Zulfiqar & Mahmood we won a Test each in India 1952-53 Eng 1954 & WI 1956-57. Individual brilliance- yes
3/14 1960s- advent of Mushtaq, Saeed, Majid, Sadiq, Pervez, Asif, Bari, Sarfraz & eventually Zaheer made it a case for personal excellence however team results overseas were below mediocrity. Selection was still an issue. Nepotism & political connotations were the fashion.
4/14 1970s- we first started winning outside spurred by rollicking superstars Majid Zaheer Asif Bari Mushtaq Sarfraz Imrån Wasim Raja & JM our team became prominent However we couldn’t consistently win abroad. Refer to Headingley 1971, Sydney Test 1972-73, Bridgetown 1977etc.
5/ 14 During the 1970s there were many matches that should have been won. Pakistan lacked collective effort. Individually we had the world grown stars. Politics, selection issues, favouritism was always a malaise. We needed systems. Player power & Ad Hocism were prevalent.
6/14 1980s Imran’s global image, high self belief, Individual brilliance with J. Miandad, Malik & W. Akram & some credible players like Mohsin, Mudassar, Shoaib.M., Qadir & Qasim consistently began winning outside. Impactful years. The ball reverse swung. World teams were pithed
7/14 we won in India 1986-87, England 1987, only to be denied in the West Indies in 1987-88. These were the time cricket superseded hockey in Pakistan. We needed to add value to systems. With Imrån retiring from Tests we needed to have JM as the heir. We didn’t stick to it.
8/14 1990s saw the best generation, highest on skill, they had strength to be the world beaters. Wasim Waqar Saeed Aamer Inzi Ijaz Yousaf Rashid, Moin Mushtaq Shoaib Saqlain & a gauntlet of wasted talent. This generation was lost to failure to co exist in a phenomenal module.
9/14 1990s generation didn’t achieve what they warranted. They were pitted against the World best & mostly locked horns however final results weren’t consistently achieved. There were back ended issues, which made the team not look well integrated.
10/14 2000s- Sporadically top performances overseas we saw. Yousaf, Younis, Inzamam, Asif, Shoaib & lately Aamir emerged. That self belief began to sap. Not ideally supported with association cricket replaced by demographically poorly planned regional cricket did hurt.
11/14 Mediocrity was the norm. Infrastructural deficiencies with a typical mindset, approach to survive further dented Pakistan. Overseas record after 2010 was shambles. Misbah, Younis, Yasir, Azhar, Asad, Sarfraz impacted however on the sides were still cricket’s cultural issues
12/14 there was a paradigm shift. World moved on. We didn’t keep up pace infrastructurally. We never developed the breeding grounds. We didn’t marginalise the inherent problems. Cricket now was ruthless. We tried cloning systems however missed having cut for role people.
13/14 Babar is there, a rollicking superstar. Nasim & Shaheen can be the ones. We mustn’t wait for miracles to happen. It has to be a long haul. If we want to be as consistent as world teams we need to get back to the breeding grounds making them relevant to modernity.
14/14 Fretting? We need to be realists. We need to plan long term. We need to make impenetrable systems amidst the cultural impediments. Let’s for now be entertained by individual brilliance. Hooing we get on the road at last. Disparity killed hockey & squash. Let’s save cricket
