The Pakistani cricket team is going through a difficult period, facing a series of defeats against England in the Test series. Furthermore, the women's team suffered a humiliating defeat to India in an important Asian Cup match.
Despite the fact that recent years have shown extremely unsatisfactory results for Pakistani sports in major tournaments, former Pakistan captain Mohammed Yusuf pointed to the root cause of this decline.
According to Yusuf, the decisive moment that triggered the decline of Pakistani cricket was the victory over India in the 2021 T20 World Cup, where they won by taking 10 wickets.
In 2021, in Dubai, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan scored 152 runs, successfully defending the target without losing any wickets. This victory was Pakistan's first against India in World Cup history. The entire country immersed itself in celebrations.
However, five years later, Yusuf believes that this victory dealt significant damage to the team. In an interview with a television channel, he noted that that 2021 victory over India caused great harm. After that, the players started to feel that they had achieved something monumental, and they did not understand what steps to take next.
Yusuf emphasized that while good play requires humility, the players began to act arrogantly, puffing out their chests. He warned that pride and disregard for others inevitably lead to problems, which is what happened in Pakistani cricket.
The former captain also openly discussed the internal struggle within the team. He stated that after that victory, every player began to compete for the captaincy. It is this internal competition that Pakistani cricket continues to pay for.
In recent years, Pakistan has changed many captains and coaches, but the team's results in the Asian Cup, ODI, and T20 World Cups remain extremely low. Although the management provided full support to the players, none of the athletes took responsibility.
Pakistan's current state remains very poor. The team suffered two consecutive and crushing defeats against England. Before that, Bangladesh also heavily defeated them on home soil. Following these shameful losses, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took strict measures, excluding seven players and giving a chance to new athletes. Additionally, head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant coach Umar Gul were dismissed.