How Pakistan Cricket can make a comeback
Pakistan cricket has touched one low after another in the last few years, from a ban on hosting international matches to spot-fixing issues and board politics, all plaguing it at various times in the past decade. Despite all this, Pakistan has continued to produce a factory line of rare talents, who have had to fight against the deficiencies of the system to emerge as top class cricketers.
Pakistan have done well despite all this in the Test format, currently place at no. 3 in the ICC Test rankings. However, they have failed to compete well in the limited overs format, stumbling from one disaster to another in ODIs and T20s.
Now if I were at the helm of affairs at Pakistan cricket, I would be utterly disappointed at the current state of affairs. It has become a laughing stock of world cricket, and needs some serious revamp and restructuring to emerge as a top cricketing nation again.
Let us see a few steps that might help in the revival of Pakistan cricket.
Former players at the helm of running cricket affairs
For a long time, board politics has been affecting Pakistan cricket in a bad way. Most of the men running the game at domestic levels are non-player administrators, who do not have any idea about the grassroots level of the game.
It would be much better if, in their place, ex-cricketers were given control of running the affairs of the board. They will be better able to understand the requirements of players, and also, be more aware of the changes needed to stay competitive in the ever-evolving sports world.
For example, they can put ex-international players in charge of coaching at various provinces, which won’t be a problem considering the number of great cricketers Pakistan has produced in the past.
The ex-players can use their wisdom obtained through years of playing first-class cricket in improving the standard of cricket in Pakistan from the grassroots level.
Strict measures against spot-fixing, betting and any illegal activities
Pakistan has also been embroiled into betting scandals over the years. In the 1990s, players like Saleem Malik were charged with spot-fixing and many international players complained of such activities happening with Pakistan cricket.
The recent Mohammed Amir fixing scandal rocked the entire cricketing world, and the youngster was banned from international cricket for 5 years.
It is high time Pakistan took strict action against such illegal activities and scandals so that their future generation of cricketers is not adversely affected by these ills.