Being a Pakistan cricket enthusiast at the moment feels like watching a beloved team stumble through a dark tunnel. In the last 19 Test matches, Pakistan has been on the losing side 14 times, a dismal run that was punctuated last week by a crushing defeat to England at Headingley.
The English side dominated the three‑day encounter, winning by an innings and 103 runs, and the performance exposed a series of deep‑seated problems within Pakistan cricket. The English bowlers were disciplined, the batsmen were clinical, and the fielders were sharp – a combination that left the Pakistani side looking helpless.
As the second Test loomed at Lord's, the conversation shifted from the on‑field scorecard to a broader analysis of why the Pakistani game appears to be in a state of alarm. On the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, senior Cricinfo editor and Pakistan specialist Osman Samiuddin joined former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain to dissect the issues.
Samiuddin began by highlighting the chaotic domestic structure that has plagued the country for half a century. He explained that Pakistan has been caught in an endless tug‑of‑war between departmental teams – those backed by corporations and government bodies – and regional sides representing provinces.
"Whatever system you finally decide on, you need to stick with it for at least a decade," he warned. Since the inaugural first‑class season in 1953, the board has altered the format almost every year, creating an environment with no continuity or stability. The most recent overhaul came in the 2019‑20 season when the board slashed the number of first‑class teams from sixteen to six, only to later expand again to sixteen teams across four first‑class tournaments and three limited‑overs competitions.
This yo‑yo approach had immediate, painful consequences. By halving the pool of professional cricketers, many players suddenly found themselves without a livelihood.
Stories emerged of former first‑class players taking up taxi driving or other odd jobs overnight because the board had effectively removed their contracts. The impact on the quality of domestic cricket has been profound.
Previously, matches were spread across sixteen venues, offering a variety of pitches and conditions that helped batsmen and bowlers adapt. In recent years, the schedule has been compressed to just four or five grounds, limiting exposure to different surfaces. "How can a young batsman like Abdullah Shafique or an established player like Imam‑ul‑Haq learn to cope with diverse conditions when they are playing on the same few pitches over and over again?" Samiuddin asked. Beyond the structural instability, Samiuddin pointed out that Pakistan simply does not play enough Test cricket.
The team has not featured in a double‑digit number of Tests in a calendar year since 2017. While other nations such as Sri Lanka, Ireland and Afghanistan have played fewer than five Tests in 2025, Pakistan is slated for nine Tests in 2026 – still a modest schedule that hampers player development and match sharpness.
Leadership turnover has added another layer of difficulty. Since 2021, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has seen four chairmen – Ramiz Raja, Najam Sethi, Zaka Ashraf and the current chairman Mohsin Naqvi – each bringing a different philosophy and level of engagement. Naqvi, who also serves as the country’s interior minister, is often pre‑occupied with governmental duties, raising questions about how much time he can devote to cricket administration.
The consequences of this revolving‑door governance are evident in the careers of Pakistan’s most promising talents. Players such as Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam, Abdullah Shafique and Naseem Shah burst onto the international scene with great fanfare, yet many have struggled to maintain momentum.
Samiuddin argued that the regression is largely due to mismanagement of player pathways, injury rehabilitation, and overall development programs. Shaheen’s knee injury, sustained while fielding in Sri Lanka in 2022, exemplifies the problem. The rehabilitation process was muddled, and the bowler was rushed back into the side before fully recovering. Since his return, Shaheen has featured in only nine of Pakistan’s 27 Tests, a stark contrast to the expectations placed on a world‑class pacer.
Naseem Shah, another fast‑bowling prodigy, has not played a Test since December 2024, despite his obvious talent. Both bowlers have suffered from constant changes in coaching staff – they rarely know who their head coach or bowling coach is at any given time – and have been denied regular first‑class cricket to rebuild fitness and form. Samiuddin emphasized that the waste of talent has accelerated over the past five to six years.
While some degree of attrition is inevitable in any sporting system, the rate at which promising players are either sidelined or forced out of the game is alarming. The lack of clear communication also hurts morale; both Shaheen and Naseem have been dropped from squads without public explanation, a practice that "messes with a player's career" and erodes trust. The atmosphere at Headingley reflected fan fatigue as well.
The Pakistani contingent was noticeably thin, and many supporters expressed frustration not just with the results but with the way the sport is governed in their country. Samiuddin reported hearing from fans who are no longer angry at the players for losing, but rather exasperated by the administrative chaos that seems to undermine any chance of success. He warned that if the current trajectory continues, cricket in Pakistan could suffer a fate similar to that of field hockey – once a national passion, now a marginal sport – or the West Indies, where internal disarray has led to a steep decline on the world stage.
"We are at an alarm‑bells‑ringing danger point," he said. "If we keep going like this, we may see cricket in Pakistan fade the way other sports have in the past." In summary, the crisis in Pakistan cricket stems from a combination of unstable domestic structures, insufficient Test exposure, frequent leadership changes, and poor player management. To reverse the decline, the PCB must commit to a single, coherent domestic model, ensure regular high‑quality competition for its players, and provide stable, focused leadership that prioritises the long‑term health of the game over short‑term political considerations.
Only then can the nation hope to restore the pride and excitement that once made Pakistan a formidable force in international cricket.