The Pakistan cricket team is enduring one of the toughest phases in its history. Once champions of the 1992 World Cup, they now face intense criticism from fans and former players due to a string of disappointing performances. The troubles began with their elimination in the group stage of the 2023 ODI World Cup, followed by another shocking exit at the 2024 T20 World Cup. Recently, their struggles continued with a 0-2 Test series defeat to Bangladesh on home soil.
These failures have triggered multiple leadership changes within the team. After the ODI World Cup disaster, Babar Azam resigned as captain across formats, and Shaheen Afridi took over as the white-ball captain, while Shan Masood remained the Test captain. However, Shaheen’s stint was short-lived after Pakistan lost 0-2 in a four-match T20I series against England, and Babar was reinstated as white-ball captain in March. But Babar’s second term also ended quickly as he stepped down again to focus on his batting.
Commenting on the turmoil, veteran Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin expressed concern over the continuous captaincy changes, which he believes have played a major role in Pakistan’s poor form.
“I genuinely feel sorry for the current state of Pakistan cricket. Some of the most outstanding cricketers have represented Pakistan, and it used to be such a formidable team. From a cricketer’s perspective, this is a proud cricketing nation. Where are they lacking in skill? They have so many talented players,” Ashwin said in a video widely shared on social media.
He compared the situation to a game of musical chairs, where leadership keeps shifting. “In the 2023 World Cup, they lost, and Babar stepped down. Then Shaheen Afridi became captain, but Babar was reinstated for limited overs, and Shan Masood was made Test captain. Now, Pakistan hasn’t won a Test match at home for nearly three years, almost 1000 days,” he added.
Ashwin also pointed out that one of Pakistan’s biggest challenges is that their players seem more focused on individual achievements rather than the team’s success.
“As a cricketer, should I focus on my game or the team? In such an unstable environment, players may start thinking more about themselves than the team,” Ashwin concluded.