{"id":762654,"date":"2026-09-07T07:46:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T07:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/762654\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T07:46:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T07:46:12","slug":"azhar-ali-pakistan-cricket-cannot-change-in-the-space-of-a-year-pakistan-cricket-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/762654\/","title":{"rendered":"Azhar Ali: \u2018Pakistan cricket cannot change in the space of a year\u2019 | Pakistan cricket team"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a pillar of the Pakistan team that climbed from the nadir of the Lord\u2019s spot-fixing scandal in 2010<\/a> to the top of the Test rankings six years later, all while playing overseas for security reasons, Azhar Ali knows a bit about overcoming a crisis.<\/p>\n

But for all that Misbah-ul-Haq\u2019s side offered hope<\/a> back then \u2013 a reminder of Pakistan\u2019s innate ability to overcome hardship and defy expectations \u2013 Azhar is currently looking on in despair at the state of their cricket and a tour of England that has pretty much imploded this past week.<\/p>\n

As a recap, the two thrashings at Headingley<\/a> and Lord\u2019s<\/a> resulted in seven players being thrown out<\/a> of Pakistan\u2019s touring party on Monday and the head coach, Sarfaraz Ahmed, moved aside. When a livewire like Shahid Afridi calls it \u201cthe most shocking decision ever\u201d you know things are pretty wild. Even the typically more level-headed Misbah has since resigned as a selector in protest at the madness.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople used to say you could expect anything from Pakistan \u2013 that any team could turn up on any given day and either be 46 all out or win from nowhere,\u201d says Azhar, a veteran of 97 Tests, the scorer of 19 Test hundreds including a triple, and a past favourite at both Somerset and Worcestershire. \u201cBut we don\u2019t even do that inconsistency any more<\/a>. We\u2019ve become totally consistent \u2013 in the most negative way.<\/p>\n

Seven Pakistan players, including the experienced wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, were sent home from the tour of England. Photograph: Dave Shopland\/AP<\/p>\n

\u201cCricket in Pakistan needs proper care and a vision that gives hope to a nation on the brink of losing their appetite. If we don\u2019t pull our socks up, we won\u2019t be able to bring people back. You cannot lose hope but the signs are not good.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Azhar points out, Pakistan\u2019s troubles go beyond this mass ejection of players and staff, with the team bottom of the World Test Championship for the second cycle running and having lost 15 of their past 20 matches. The backdrop is a period of huge instability and knee-jerk calls, leading to a revolving door of coaches, selectors and captains, plus a domestic system that changes radically every year.<\/p>\n

Azhar, himself the Test captain for a time, has sympathy for Babar Azam\u2019s plight as the captain still trying to lead, as well as the players who have either been unceremoniously dumped or parachuted in before next week\u2019s third Test. \u201cYou can tell from their body language things are not good,\u201d he says. \u201cI would be very surprised if the final Test is a contest.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is also a dab of criticism towards Imam-ul-Haq, who did not bat in either innings at Lord\u2019s after a minor calf strain on day one. \u201cSome players are tough, others a little soft. He should have batted, even at No 11,\u201d says Azhar.<\/p>\n

Azhar Ali captained Pakistan on their tour of England in the Covid-affected summer of 2020. Photograph: Reuters<\/p>\n

But the 41-year-old\u2019s main issue beyond a misfiring side is the blame culture that has seemingly emerged above it \u2013 and in particular, how Aaqib Javed, high performance director since 2024 and behind the decision to rip up the plans at 2-0 down, has this week distanced himself from the leadership on tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have had bad decisions like these for three years now,\u201d says Azhar. \u201cHe should take responsibility for performances. His judgment should be questioned. I listened to his interview this week and he was trying to put the blame on Sarfaraz and Babar. He appointed them just a few months earlier!<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was enough for me to judge someone. Every decision he makes backfires and he then says: \u2018It\u2019s not me.\u2019 Look at yourself first. And if you cannot control this team, if you cannot make a difference to Pakistan cricket, then step away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Azhar briefly passed through the maelstrom himself, having spent 12 months as Pakistan\u2019s head of youth development before stepping down last year. His role, he says, became untenable once Sarfaraz came into the set-up and key decisions around the under-19s team started to be made without consultation.<\/p>\n

At peace with that decision, Azhar wonders whether Babar will be pondering his own, just two months into this second crack at captaincy. Once considered a talent to potentially turn the Big Four of Steve Smith, Joe Root, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson into a Big Five, Babar is nearly four years without a Test century and was twisted into a pretzel by a Jofra Archer thunderbolt at Lord\u2019s.<\/p>\n

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Azhar Ali (right) retired from Test cricket in 2022, and after his last innings was given a guard of honour by his teammates. Photograph: AP<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is probably the worst time to captain Pakistan right now,\u201d says Azhar. \u201cHe has to consider his options too, I believe. Every player goes through periods of low scores but as a nation we just kept expecting him to deliver and criticism followed. It has played on his mind and he has doubted himself, while lacking any internal support.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think he is as mentally strong as Misbah or, say, Younis Khan. Misbah was not as talented as Babar but he was far tougher. Younis faced criticism but never lost his targets<\/a>. Everyone is different though. We have to realise that and create an environment where he can flourish, not be pulled back.\u201d<\/p>\n

More broadly, Azhar\u2019s chief plea to the Pakistan Cricket Board \u2013 heavily politicised though it is \u2013 is to create a settled domestic structure, invest heavily in pathway coaching and pay the top players more money to sharpen their focus. Fast bowling in particular \u2013 a Pakistani tradition that has made way for a diet of military medium<\/a> \u2013 must be more incentivised.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to ask why the fast bowlers are not coming through,\u201d he says. \u201cLook at Bangladesh<\/a>. They were not content with just spin at home, they wanted to grow as a cricketing nation and produced a group of fast bowlers who have just won a Test match in Australia<\/a>. You can\u2019t just hope it happens, which is what the attitude feels like in Pakistan these days.<\/p>\n

Aaqib Javed, who was himself briefly the interim head coach of Pakistan, has sacked his successor Sarfaraz Ahmed and sent half of the playing squad home. Photograph: KM Chaudary\/AP<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you develop bowlers who will bend their back all day with 25 overs bowling 140kph? There is also the challenge of T20 leagues. Players are not fools. They can see the money you can earn in a month and will ask themselves why they should dedicate themselves year-round to Test cricket.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you have to create an environment that encourages and inspires the players, where they believe they can get better and not simply do just enough. You have to find that special something inside them, and pay them highly. All nations can find white-ball bowlers. Red-ball fast bowlers are the real gold dust.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a settled structure and one where people are hired and backed for three-to-four years. Right now the under-19s, for example, are leaderless. But that role is arguably more important than the head coach of the senior side.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know where this Test team is currently and have to accept that. But major work done by competent people in the pathway \u2013 that is how we come back. It\u2019s not about quick fixes. We cannot change in the space of a year. That\u2019s impossible. But four to five? I believe the talent is there to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given the history of Pakistan, and for the sake of the future health of Test cricket, here is hoping.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a pillar of the Pakistan team that climbed from the nadir of the Lord\u2019s spot-fixing scandal in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":762655,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1721,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-762654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-cricket","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=762654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/762655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=762654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=762654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=762654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}