Why 2024 is shaping up to be Pakistan men's worst year
It wouldn't be hyperbolic to state 2024 is on track to be the single worst year in the history of the Pakistan men's cricket team.
Once the most exciting side in the world, filled to the brim with world-beating stars, Pakistan are fading away under an avalanche of poor performances, poor administration and poor planning.
It started with a 3-0 Test series loss in Australia, took in a heavy T20 series defeat to New Zealand and included a loss to the USA in the T20 World Cup in Dallas.
Fans hoping that was the nadir didn't realise there was lower to go as Pakistan would lose their first-ever Test match to Bangladesh on their way to a 2-0 series loss in their own backyard.
The smart money suggests there is more misery in store when England visit. After all, Pakistan were hammered 3-0 at home when the two last met in 2022. It's almost expected at this point.
Where did it all go wrong?
So where did it all go wrong for Pakistan? How does a team featuring some of the best and most-hyped players in the world suffer a sequence so dismal?
In a word: insecurity.
In August 2021, Ehsan Mani stepped down as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Since then, four men have held the post: Ramiz Raja, Najam Sethi, Zaka Ashraf and the current chair Mohsin Naqvi.
Now it's worth mentioning that, in Pakistan, the PCB chair role is inextricably linked to the government. New administration in government, new administration in cricket.
That's just the way things are in Pakistan and that isn't going to change anytime soon. But this kind of revolving door of personnel can't help player morale. Especially if it extends to the role of head coach.
Since Saqlain Mushtaq stepped down after a two-year run in 2023, a mind-boggling six different coaches have headed up Pakistan cricket: Abdul Rehman, Grant Bradburn, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Mahmood, Gary Kirsten and currently Jason Gillespie.
These are all serious names with serious resumes but none have been shown a prolonged period of confidence.
Is it any wonder that Pakistan are unable to show stability on the pitch when so little of it exists off it?
A Drake-Kendrick Lamar style feud
It's not just personnel. Team morale feels at an all-time low.
Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi are, on their day, the best batter and bowler in the world respectively.
But their best days have been absent for a very long time. England fans will visualise Shaheen as the man who bowls upwards of 90 miles per hour, the bowler who took four wickets in four balls in the T20 Blast and two in two with his very first deliveries in The Hundred.
It feels like a hundred years ago. His pace has dropped considerably, as has his threat and his stock. To the point he isn't even guaranteed to be in the starting line-up for every Test.
Since Babar Azam's century against New Zealand in December 2022, he has failed to pass 50 runs in 15 Test innings.
Perhaps more significant is the drop in his aura among fans home and away. There is still a lot of passionate support, but there are now warring tribes - those who love him and those who don't want to invest in him again.
This hasn't been helped by the captaincy debacle. After a poor 50-over World Cup in India, Babar was replaced as captain by Shaheen Afridi in white-ball cricket and Shan Masood in Tests.
The former's run lasted just five matches, a 4-1 loss away to New Zealand, after which a change in chairman resulted in the captaincy reverting back to Babar. One can only imagine what this did for Shaheen's morale, never mind the understandable friction created between the team's two heavyweights.
A curiously-timed white-ball captaincy resignation from Babar just adds to the chaos. Social media is filled with opportunistic journalists and fans trying to create a Drake/Kendrick Lamar style feud out of this scenario. Is it any wonder both have been a long way short of their best this year?
Also, spare a thought for Masood. Going into the England series, his Test captaincy record is played five, lost five - a tally that could well grow worse after a difficult England series.
Yet the PCB board seem unconcerned about the potential catastrophes that loom. Test cricket seems a low priority.
They seem to be more interested in renovating their stadia for the Champions Trophy - a tournament they're still far from certain to host early next year.
The decision to renovate Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore simultaneously, knowing you're scheduled to host other series is, in the politest sense, bizarre.
This planning resulted in the itinerary for the England Test series being delayed and reorganised, leaving touring fans frustrated, even angry. Understandably so.
Perpetual hope despite the despair
Perhaps the most maddening thing is Pakistan's preparation for this Test Series.
You've just lost to Bangladesh for the first time and now you've got England visiting, the same team that dominated you two years earlier. What's the best way to prepare? Hastily organise a domestic 50-over competition of course.
For their part, England bullishly announced their squad before the venues had even been confirmed, while Pakistan agonised over which spinners would extract the most from a Multan pitch set to host back-to-back Tests.
Noman Ali got the nod and one can assume he, alongside Abrar Ahmed, will have a big workload. Saim Ayub, included for his exciting top-order batting, could well play a Joe Root-esque role with the ball.
There are plenty of resources for Pakistan - it's a squad that makes sense. But even with all their first-choice players available and selected there is a sense of resignation among Pakistan fans. Another 3-0 loss looms.
It's not just fans who are losing hope either. A TV broadcast deal was done very late in the day which shows the declining appetite to see Pakistan play.
Once the most exciting and must-watch team in the world and now nobody wants to watch them.
It's possible that despite all of this, Pakistan go on to beat England 3-0, successfully host and win every match of the Champions Trophy and have a tickertape parade through the streets of Lahore in six months' time.
It seems hugely unlikely. But pulling off the hugely unlikely is the one constant of Pakistan cricket. And the one thing that gives perpetual hope to a fanbase in times of seemingly endless despair.
