Pakistan cricket has been thrown into fresh turmoil following the sacking of Sarfaraz Ahmed as red-ball head coach after he oversaw five defeats in six Tests in the role. The decision came after successive Test thrashings by England, prompting the Pakistan Cricket Board to initiate a major overhaul.
Seven players were sent home from the tour, including Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad. Bowling coach Umar Gul was also replaced
with Australian Ashley Noffke, while white-ball coach Mike Hesson was handed charge for the third Test in England.
Former Pakistan batter Azhar Ali, who previously served as a PCB selector and in youth development roles, has launched a scathing critique of the board's direction and decision-making processes. Azhar expressed deep concerns about the instability plaguing Pakistan cricket at multiple levels.
"The real problem is the lack of vision among the people working at the PCB. It also raises questions about the competence of the people making these decisions," Azhar said as quoted by Dawn.
Instability and job insecurity at the PCB
Azhar Ali has identified job insecurity among board officials and players as a root cause of Pakistan cricket's systemic problems. He believes that when decision-makers are focused on protecting their positions rather than improving the team, the quality of cricketing judgement suffers significantly.
"Job security seems to be the biggest concern. When you are trying to save your job, competence goes out of the window. If cricketing decisions are not being taken by cricketers, then it is also the fault of the cricketers themselves," Azhar said.
"It creates insecurity among the players. You can see it in their body language. They are under mental stress and are not able to absorb everything that comes with these decisions. There are times when you have to make hard decisions, and I think those decisions should be made but the players need to feel that they have some security and that they can stand their ground," he added.
Azhar Ali's roadmap for Pakistan cricket
Azhar Ali has outlined a comprehensive roadmap for Pakistan cricket that centres on collective decision-making and long-term consistency. He believes that involving the country's best players in identifying systemic problems is essential before committing to any strategic plan.
"There has been instability and inconsistency all around — political instability, changes in coaching and changes in selectors. The people running the cricket board are trying to save their job, while the players in the team are also thinking about their own future. I don’t blame the players for that. If I am in their position, I will also think about myself," Azhar said.
"First of all, we have to make sure that we know what our problem is. If you don’t know the problem, there can be no introspection and no realisation. Until you realise where you stand, the journey towards improvement cannot begin. You cannot keep taking one step forward and two steps back," he added.
Decline of star players reflects systemic failures
Azhar Ali has raised concerns about the decline of Pakistan's star players, particularly Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, and attributed their struggles to systemic failures within the board's management structure. He believes that technical issues are secondary to the quality of support systems available to elite cricketers.
"I would like to see our top cricketers sit together and talk about what they think is wrong with Pakistan cricket and find the right solutions collectively before laying a proper five-year road map. We [then] have to be patient and consistent with it. I guarantee that if we do this properly, we will not become world-beaters, but we will at least be able to compete. Fans will enjoy watching Pakistan play. Currently, we are becoming irrelevant," Azhar said.
"The ability is there in everyone. If your system supports players properly, they can perform at international level. Technical issues do not matter as much as people think. If our best players are not ready, then we have to look at the system. We have to ask ourselves: why have Babar and Rizwan gone backwards? We have to look at how we have wasted these players and why they have declined," he concluded.
