Retired Pakistan cricket captain Moin Khan recently sounded a clear warning to his country’s governing board. Khan believes the Men in Green’s apparent endless struggles across all formats could trigger a disinterest among top teams ahead of planned bilateral series:
“We have been struggling in all formats but notably in Test matches and if this trend continues, I am afraid people will lose interest in Pakistan cricket,” the cricketer said during a recent podcast.
Pakistan Cricket May Fall into Bottom Half – Khan Warns
The veteran cricketer believes Pakistan may struggle to attract top opposition for bilateral series with the recent events surrounding their performances across formats:
“We might find ourselves relegated to the bottom half of the cricket world finding it difficult to get bilateral series with top teams,” Khan continued. The Men in Green continue to rack up under-par results, even against seemingly-lowly opposition in recent matches.
Khan blames the poor performances of PAK players in all formats on several issues that include appointment issues and selection problems:
“I blame the frequent changes being made by the board in the cricket system including appointments/removal of captains, coaches, players and the inexplicable calls made by the national selectors,” the veteran cricketer added during this podcast.
Khan Says Continuity Vital to Achieve Results
The retired World Cup winner says having continuity in a squad is important to ensure success. Khan also believes the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should place trust in their selected players and captains to achieve good results going forward.
Hiring and firing coaches also hasn’t helped so far, and Khan believes Pakistan must change their approach:
“Unless you don’t have continuity, stability and faith in a captain, coach or players, how can you expect to achieve good results?” the retired cricketer asked.
“Whenever a chairman and management team is changed you see things change in our cricket system which are not necessarily productive. So where is the stability?” Khan quizzed further.
Khan Fires at Players After Slamming PCB
The visibly-displeased Khan had some shots for Pakistan’s players fielded in recent years. He believes these players have been under-par in certain areas, and their underwhelming output has affected the national team’s potential for success.
PAK players do not develop their skills enough – Khan
Khan believes player development is essential to the growth of national cricket in Pakistan. He does not see the current crop of Men in Green players paying much attention to honing their skillset ahead of major national assignments so far:
“I don’t want to harp on the past, but to me it seems most players nowadays don’t give enough time to developing their skills and cricket temperament. It is more about how much money we can make in leagues rather than setting and reaching personal goals of excellence as a cricketer,” the former professional cricketer added.
Khan says player earnings were not as high in his day, while he warns that players must remember the value in playing for their country:
“When I played, we earned in lakhs. Nowadays players earn in crores but players must also remember nothing is greater than playing for your country with success,” he continued.
Khan says players, PCB devalue the PAK cap
The veteran continued by blaming players and Pakistan’s cricket board for misplaced priorities and devaluing the country’s international cap considerably:
“I guess priorities have changed for players now. The PCB and selectors have not helped by devaluing the Pakistan cap,” Khan added. The retired cricket star recalls how he attracted questions from several quarters regarding how he always scored runs in high-pressure games:
“People ask me how you always got runs in a crisis situation and I tell them it is all about how well you prepare as a player for the matches,” Khan revealed.
Bowlers not doing enough – Khan
He did not leave bowlers out of criticism during this podcast. Khan thinks Pakistan’s bowlers have not been at the top level in recent years, and their decline in standards may be the reason behind the country’s poor performance with the ball. He shared how veteran bowlers in his era delivered impressive pitches to ensure the country’s top status in international cricket:
“Bowlers are not willing to put in the hours. I played with greats like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and I can tell you the perfection of bowling on any sort of pitch and increased pace only comes when you put in long hours in the nets,” he concluded.
