Testing time for Pakistan cricket on and off the pitch

From the outside, Pakistan’s cricket appears to be a mess. What it must be like inside, one can only guess. The latest downturn was a two-match Test series against Bangladesh, which secured its first-ever victory over Pakistan in that format on Pakistani soil.

In both matches the home team worked its way into superior positions, only to lose grip. Pakistan has failed to win any of its last 10 home Tests, drawing four and losing six. The next visitors are England in October. Uncertainty has surrounded the venues for the three Tests.

This is because much-needed renovation work is taking place at international venues in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Multan in preparation for the International Cricket Council’s Champions Trophy which Pakistan is due to host in March 2025. It will be the first time the country has hosted an ICC event since 1996, when it co-hosted the ODI World Cup with India and Sri Lanka. Since then, international cricket in Pakistan has been sparse, especially after the attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009. The Trophy is a mini-ODI World Cup, consisting of the eight top-ranked teams in the 2023 ODI World Cup. These will be Pakistan, India, Australia, England, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, New Zealand and South Africa. Pakistan is the holder of the Trophy, having defeated India at the last time of asking in 2017.

It was always going to be a bone of contention over whether India’s team would be allowed to travel to play in Pakistan. It has not done so for 16 years, since the Asia Cup in 2008, when an MS Dhoni-led side lost to Sri Lanka in the final played in Karachi. It remains India’s last fixture in Pakistan, whilst India’s last bilateral series in the country was in 2006. The decision-making process for future visits to Pakistan has just become more complex.

Jay Shah, serving as secretary of the BCCI and president of the Asia Cricket Council, will take over as chair of the ICC in December. As is well known, he is the son of the minister of interior in India. Constitutionally, the ICC chair’s role is independent. It will be a big test for Shah if he can fulfill this obligation. The geopolitics of cricket and Asian cricket, in particular, is now subject to a new dynamic. Shah’s replacement as president of the ACC is unknown as yet. There are strong rumours that it could be the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister.

The potentially strong involvement of the interior ministers of both countries in the decision-making process is an intriguing one. Pakistan will not want to forego its hosting opportunity, especially as it is spending more than $45 million on stadium upgrades, as well as additional funding for the women’s game. How cruel it would be if that opportunity was to be pulled away at short notice.

Furthermore, in an attempt to enhance the standard of domestic cricket, the PCB has introduced a champions one-day cup for the 2024 season. It aims to provide a competitive platform for emerging talent and a bridge between domestic and international cricket. Five regional teams will compete between Sept. 12-29 in Faisalabad in a single league format, with top teams advancing to knockout stages. Neither of the current national captains have been made captains of a regional team. However, previous captains and a current vice-captain have been. The motives for this have not been explained, but stability does not appear a consideration.

Rumours abound that the current test captain, Shan Masood, may be replaced. He provided one explanation for Pakistan’s defeat by Bangladesh: “Whatever format you play is the format for which you will produce players. You cannot play more T20 cricket and get Test players.” This deserves to be unpacked.

At first sight, he seems to be suggesting that players should be developed according to the format to which they are most suited. Alternatively, he could be suggesting that if the focus is fixated on playing T20 cricket, particularly by those younger players coming into the game, then the future development of a sufficient number of those able to succeed at Test cricket will be diminished. He went on to say: “You cannot prepare for science and then sit for a maths exam. If you are being tested for maths, you study maths. To play red-ball cricket, you must play red-ball cricket.”

There is logic in this, but there will be those who disagree. They will point to examples of players who have succeeded across all formats. They will point to the transfer of attacking skills and mindsets from T20 to Test cricket. An example has been England’s approach to Test cricket since 2022, the so-called “Bazball.” Entertaining, bordering on recklessness and met with ridicule in some quarters, it has produced mixed results.

These were on show this week in England’s final Test of a three-match series against Sri Lanka. The team’s approach has been widely condemned as complacent, sloppy and disrespectful to both the opposition and to the format of Test cricket. It led to defeat but, seemingly, not much contrition. England will head to Pakistan under a slight cloud to face an opponent in disarray, both on and off the pitch.

There is still time for Pakistan to regroup its playing composure through the new tournament and a “connection camp” meeting on Sept. 23. This is designed to initiate a comprehensive evaluation of every facet of domestic and international cricket. Skeptics abound, pointing to chronic issues of instability that ride on the whims of politicians and affect the PCB’s management. In turn, these are reflected on the field.

In the last two years, Pakistan cricket has experienced four coaches, three PCB heads, three captains and changes to domestic cricket formats. It will be fascinating to witness how the frenzy of England’s approach to Test cricket matches up against the febrile and chaotic nature of Pakistan’s political-cricketing environment.