For anyone who follows Pakistan cricket, the current situation feels like a nightmare. In the span of just a few weeks the national side has endured a crushing series of setbacks, most starkly illustrated by the three‑day demolition at Headingley where England piled on 103 runs in a single innings to hand Pakistan a humiliating defeat. That loss was the latest in a string of 14 defeats out of the last 19 Test matches the team has contested, and it has left supporters wondering what has gone so terribly wrong. The problems run deeper than a single poor performance.
In the lead‑up to the second Test at Lord’s, senior cricket analyst Osman Samiuddin – a veteran writer for Cricinfo who specialises in Pakistan cricket – joined former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast to dissect the underlying issues. Samiuddin warned that the game in Pakistan is now at an "alarm‑bells" stage, with fans growing increasingly frustrated not only with on‑field results but also with the way the sport is administered at home. One of the most glaring concerns Samiuddin highlighted is the chronic instability of the domestic structure. For half a century Pakistan has been locked in a tug‑of‑war between departmental teams – squads backed by government ministries and corporations – and regional sides representing provinces or cities.
The board has swung back and forth between the two models almost every season since the first first‑class competition in 1953. Samiuddin argued that the board should finally commit to a single system and give it at least a decade to bear fruit, rather than continually reshuffling the format. The consequences of that constant tinkering are evident.
In the 2019‑20 season the board slashed the number of first‑class teams from sixteen to six, only to later expand again to sixteen with a mixture of four first‑class tournaments and three limited‑overs competitions. The abrupt reduction in 2019 wiped out roughly half the pool of professional cricketers overnight. Stories emerged of former first‑class players taking up taxi driving or other odd jobs because their cricketing contracts vanished.
Moreover, the reduction meant that domestic matches, which used to be spread across sixteen venues, were now confined to just four or five grounds. This limited exposure makes it difficult for emerging batsmen like Abdullah Shafique or Imam‑ul‑Haq to learn how to adjust to varied conditions, a skill that is essential for success at the Test level. Samiuddin also pointed out that Pakistan simply does not play enough Tests to develop its talent. Since 2017 the team has not featured in a double‑digit number of Test matches in any calendar year.
By contrast, only a handful of nations – Sri Lanka (four), Ireland (three) and Afghanistan (two) – have played fewer than five Tests in 2025. The PCB has scheduled nine Tests for 2026, but the lack of regular, high‑quality competition over the past several years has left the side under‑prepared and vulnerable. Administrative turmoil compounds the on‑field woes.
Since 2021 the board has seen four different chairmen – Ramiz Raja, Najam Sethi, Zaka Ashraf and the current incumbent Mohsin Naqvi – each bringing a distinct vision and varying levels of involvement. Naqvi, who also serves as Pakistan’s interior minister, is often pulled in different directions by national security duties, raising questions about how much attention he can devote to cricket. This revolving‑door leadership has resulted in inconsistent policies, especially concerning player development and injury management.
The impact on individual careers is stark. Talented fast bowlers such as Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah have seen their trajectories stall.
Shaheen, who suffered a knee injury while fielding in Sri Lanka in 2022, has only featured in nine of the last 27 Tests, partly because his rehabilitation was mishandled and he was rushed back too soon. Naseem has not played a Test since December 2024 despite being one of the world’s most promising pacemen.
Both bowlers have been shuffled in and out of squads without clear communication, a practice Samiuddin described as "messing with a player's career". Coaching instability further hampers progress. Players often do not know who their head coach or bowling coach is at any given time, leading to a lack of continuity in technique and strategy.
Fast bowlers, who rely heavily on regular first‑class work to build stamina and refine their craft, have been denied that opportunity – Shaheen, for instance, has played virtually no first‑class cricket in the past three years. All these factors have contributed to what Samiuddin calls a rising waste of talent.
While some degree of attrition is inevitable in any sport, the rate at which Pakistan is losing promising players has accelerated dramatically. The combination of a fragmented domestic system, insufficient Test exposure, erratic administration, and poor player management creates a perfect storm that squanders the nation’s cricketing potential.
The reaction from the fan base reflects this growing unease. Observers at the Headingley Test noted the thinness of the Pakistani contingent in the stands, a visual cue of waning enthusiasm. According to Samiuddin, many supporters are not angry at the players per se; rather, they are exasperated with how the sport is run.
He warned that if the current trajectory continues, cricket in Pakistan could follow a similar decline to that of field hockey, which has struggled to maintain relevance, or the West Indies, where cricket has slipped from its former glory. In summary, the crisis facing Pakistan cricket is multi‑faceted: a constantly changing domestic framework, a shortage of Test matches, leadership turnover, inadequate player welfare, and a disengaged fan base. Addressing these issues will require decisive, long‑term planning from the PCB, a stable governance structure, and a renewed commitment to nurturing talent at the grassroots level. Only then can the alarm bells finally be silenced and Pakistan return to its rightful place among the world’s cricketing elite.