HISTORIC victory or the beginning of the end? Former Pakistan cricket legend Mohammad Yousuf has offered a scathing assessment of the national team’s current state, tracing the roots of their prolonged decline back to one of the most celebrated nights in the country’s cricketing history: the 10-wicket thrashing of India at the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai.
For years, that October evening in the UAE was viewed as a watershed moment. Under the leadership of Babar Azam, Pakistan shattered a long-standing “World Cup hoodoo” against their arch-rivals, chasing down 152 without losing a single wicket. Babar and Mohammad Rizwan delivered masterclasses that left the cricket world stunned and Pakistan fans in ecstasy. Yet, looking back through the lens of recent failures, Yousuf views that triumph not as a launchpad, but as the catalyst for a toxic shift in the team’s internal culture.
‘That match… damaged us a lot’
In an honest and bruising conversation on Samaa TV, Yousuf contended that the monumental win fostered an era of complacency and arrogance that has severely hampered the team’s development.
“That match which we won against India in 2021, that damaged us a lot,” Yousuf remarked. “Because after that victory, players started to think that they had achieved something big. They couldn’t understand what they had to do next. When you are performing well, you should stay humble. If you behave with your collar raised, and get disrespectful, problems will arrive. And a lot of them have arrived in Pakistan cricket.”
According to the former batting maestro, the victory did more than just boost morale; it inflated egos to the point where the focus shifted from consistent professional growth to the optics of success. The humility required to sustain elite-level performance, he argues, was replaced by a sense of entitlement.
Players obsessed with the captaincy
Yousuf’s critique extended beyond the pitch and into the locker room, where he identified a debilitating power struggle. He suggested that the dressing room became a theater of individual ambition rather than collective duty. The desire for the captaincy, he claimed, eclipsed the responsibility players should feel toward their actual performances.
“Everyone in the team was trying to become the captain of the Pakistan team,” Yousuf said. “The consequences are still hurting Pakistan cricket. Look at all the cricket Pakistan has played in the last four-five years, from ODI World Cups, T20 World Cups to Asia Cups and Champions Trophy. There has been terrible cricket. The PCB has been supporting you throughout. So many coaches have come and gone, so many things have changed just to try and help the Pakistan team. But no player has stood up and taken responsibility.”
The failure of the players to accept accountability, coupled with a revolving door of coaching staff, has left the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in a position where, in Yousuf’s estimation, drastic measures were the only remaining option.
Radical changes amid the England tour
The urgency of these warnings is highlighted by the chaos currently engulfing the Pakistan Test side. After suffering a humiliating innings-and-103-run defeat in the first Test against England at Headingley, followed by a 194-run collapse at Lord’s, the PCB made the bold—and highly controversial—decision to overhaul the squad in the middle of a series.
Seven players, including key figures like Mohammad Rizwan and Imam-ul-Haq, were sent home prematurely, alongside the removal of head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant coach Umar Gul. The board replaced them with five uncapped players, a maneuver that has sparked fierce debate. However, Yousuf remains unmoved by the critics of the board’s heavy-handed tactics.
“Yes, there is no issue with when PCB have taken action,” he stated firmly. “The Pakistan team is ninth in the World Test Championship standings. They are ninth because there are only nine teams in the table. Pakistan ka naam kharab ho raha hai (Pakistan’s reputation is getting ruined). So when that’s happening, the board has to take some steps to improve.”
Yousuf hinted that there may be deeper, untold tensions within the team environment that necessitated such a public housecleaning, noting that the dismissal of seven players suggests incidents occurring behind closed doors that were untenable for the team’s integrity.
A legacy of poor performances
The crisis is not confined to the current England tour. Yousuf emphasized that the current state of affairs is the culmination of a multi-year decline that has seen Pakistan struggle across all formats. Despite reaching the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup and the Asia Cup final, the team has since plummeted, including the embarrassment of being swept 2-0 by Bangladesh twice in recent months.
For Yousuf, the “terrible cricket” being played is a reflection of a systemic issue that prioritizes status over substance. Whether the drastic intervention by the PCB can salvage what remains of Pakistan’s international standing remains to be seen. But as the team attempts to reset, the former star’s message is clear: until the culture of entitlement is dismantled, the ghosts of the 2021 Dubai win will continue to haunt the future of Pakistan cricket.
Disclaimer: This content is auto-generated and paraphrased.
Source: Read Original News
