Being a follower of Pakistan cricket has become increasingly painful in recent weeks. The national side has endured a dismal run, losing 14 of their last 19 Test matches, a slump that was starkly highlighted by the three‑day demolition at Headingley where England piled on an innings and a 103‑run victory in the opening Test of the series. The English bowlers were relentless, the batsmen were unconvincing, and the fielding was sub‑par – a perfect storm of shortcomings that left Pakistani supporters feeling despondent.
Ahead of the second Test at Lord's, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Cricket (the pre‑match coverage begins at 10 am, with the first ball at 11 am), senior Cricinfo editor and recognised Pakistan cricket analyst Osman Samiuddin joined former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast. Samiuddin used the platform to dissect the deep‑seated problems that have pushed Pakistan cricket into what he described as an "alarm‑bells stage," with fans increasingly frustrated not just by the on‑field results but by the way the game is administered in the country.
"Whatever structure you settle on – there has been a fifty‑year battle in Pakistan over whether to run departmental teams or regional sides – you need to commit to it and give it time to bear fruit," Samiuddin argued. He noted that since the inaugural first‑class season in 1953, the domestic framework has been altered almost every year, creating an environment of constant flux.
"We cut the number of teams from sixteen to six in the 2019‑20 season, only to expand back to sixteen with four first‑class tournaments and three white‑ball competitions a few years later. That kind of yo‑yoing robs the system of stability." The 2019 reduction, he explained, decimated the pool of first‑class cricketers virtually overnight.
"There were reports of players taking up taxi driving because their cricketing careers vanished instantly," he said. The subsequent expansion did little to restore the lost talent, as the quality of domestic cricket suffered from a lack of regular, high‑standard competition. Historically, Pakistan's first‑class matches were spread across sixteen venues, but in recent seasons they have been confined to just four or five grounds.
This limited exposure hampers the development of batsmen such as Abdullah Shafique and Imam‑ul‑Haq, who are denied the chance to adapt to varied pitch conditions. Samiuddin also highlighted the scarcity of Test cricket for Pakistan.
The team has not played a double‑digit number of Tests in any calendar year since 2017. By contrast, only Sri Lanka (four), Ireland (three) and Afghanistan (two) have scheduled fewer than five Tests in 2025. Pakistan is slated to play nine Tests in 2026, but the irregular schedule has impeded the side’s ability to build cohesion and experience at the highest level. "A lot of this is self‑inflicted," he observed, pointing to the revolving door of PCB chairmen since 2021 – Ramiz Raja, Najam Sethi, Zaka Ashraf and now Mohsin Naqvi – each bringing divergent philosophies and varying degrees of engagement.
The current chairman also serves as Pakistan’s interior minister, a demanding portfolio that leaves little time for cricket administration. "You have to wonder how much focus he can give to the sport when his day job is dealing with national security issues," Samiuddin mused. The talent pipeline, once a source of optimism, now appears to be stalling.
Players like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam, Abdullah Shafique and Naseem Shah burst onto the scene with great promise, yet many have struggled to maintain that trajectory. Samiuddin blamed the PCB’s handling of player careers for this regression.
Inconsistent injury management, inadequate development programmes, and frequent changes in coaching staff have left even the brightest prospects floundering. Shaheen, for instance, has featured in only nine of the last 27 Tests since returning from a knee injury sustained while fielding in Sri Lanka in 2022.
His rehabilitation was reportedly rushed, and he has played scarcely any first‑class cricket in the past three years – a worrying sign for a fast bowler who needs regular workload to rebuild strength. Naseem Shah, another promising pacer, has not featured in a Test since December 2024, despite his evident ability.
The lack of continuity extends to the coaching set‑up. Players often do not know who their head coach or bowling coach is at any given time, creating confusion and hindering progress.
"What has become acute over the last five or six years is how wasteful Pakistan is of its talent," Samiuddin warned. While some degree of attrition is inevitable, the rate at which promising players are lost or under‑utilised has accelerated dramatically.
Samiuddin also pointed out that both Shaheen and Naseem, though not selected for the current Test squad, have been dropped without clear communication, a move that can derail a player's confidence and career trajectory. "When you drop a player without explanation, it messes with their development and morale," he said. The atmosphere in Leeds was telling; the Pakistani fan presence was thin, reflecting a growing disenchantment among supporters.
Yet, according to Samiuddin, fans are still willing to travel to Lord's, albeit with diminishing enthusiasm. "People are fed up with the way Pakistan cricket is being run, not necessarily with the team’s performance," he explained. He warned that if the current mismanagement persists, cricket in Pakistan could suffer a fate similar to that of hockey in the country or the West Indies cricket, where administrative turmoil has led to a steep decline in standards and public interest.
In summary, the expert diagnosis points to three interlinked problems: a volatile domestic structure that fails to nurture talent consistently, administrative instability at the highest level of the PCB, and inadequate player management that hampers the growth of key bowlers and batsmen. Addressing these issues will require a long‑term commitment to a single domestic model, stable leadership within the PCB, and a coherent, transparent approach to player development and injury rehabilitation. Only then can Pakistan cricket hope to silence the alarm bells and restore the pride that its passionate fan base once enjoyed.