Often used to imbue humour in misery, the age-old Murphy's Law adage states that "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong". But while the proverb generally refers to specific events and their unintended outcomes, what if this keeps happening over and over again? It has been that kind of a year for Pakistan cricket. (More Cricket News)
The year 2024 succeeded an unfulfilling run for Pakistan at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they could not make it to the top four and lost to Afghanistan along the way. That subsequently led to the coerced resignation of captain Babar Azam, who was replaced by Shan Masood in Test cricket and Shaheen Shah Afridi in T20Is.
What has followed is a string of consistently dismal results for the Men In Green. They suffered a 3-0 Test series whitewash Down Under, a crushing 1-4 T20I series defeat in New Zealand, an embarrassing group-phase exit at the T20 World Cup and most recently, an unprecedented 0-2 Test walloping from Bangladesh in their own backyard.
In between, Shaheen has been sacked from T20I leadership, Babar has been reinstated as white-ball skipper and has resigned again, and six different coaches have helmed Pakistan cricket.
There's nobody more cricket-articulate than India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin to describe the scenario. "Looking at the current state and phase of Pakistan cricket, I feel sorry. If there's so much instability in the dressing room, players will focus more on their individual interests and less on the team's well-being," Ashwin said in a recent interview.
The instability is not just limited to the dressing room. After Shaheen was asked to relinquish T20I captaincy in March, a Pakistan Cricket Board statement attributed to him a quote in support of Babar, which the fast bowler claimed to never have uttered. The speedster later posted a cryptic Instagram story with the words "don't test my patience" in it.
Furthermore, after Pakistan's lacklustre showing at the T20 World Cup, where they lost to United States in one of the greatest upsets of all time, selection committee members Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq were sacked. Wahab had assumed charge as chief selector after the 2023 ODI World Cup in November, and PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi entirely restructured the committee in March 2024.
Where did it all go wrong? Who will be the next white-ball skipper? Will they persist with Masood in Tests? And will Pakistan cricket's fortunes swing in the series to come? These are all questions that the country's cricket aficionados are seeking answers to, but none seem forthcoming as yet.
