Pakistan cricket told to take a leaf out of India's book after crackdown on 7 players & coaches, ‘there is no quick fix’

Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has urged the country's cricket board to take a leaf out of Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) book on the operations part after a recent crackdown on seven players and two coaches during their ongoing tour of England.

Following their back-to-back losses to England in the first two Test matches, the PCB led by Mohsin Naqvi, without consultation of the selectors axed seven players, along with Test head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul, asking everyone to head back home.

As a replacement, the PCB named seven players, including five uncapped, and also summoned white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and bowling coach Ashley Noffke to take charge ahead of the third and final Test, which starts on September 9 at Edgbaston in Birmingham.

Speaking on a television show as reported by PTI, Misbah pointed out India's belief in their plans and system. He also pointed out that India have been able to dominate because their players had more exposure and were professionally and mentally strong to perform under pressure.

“Our youngsters are playing too much white-ball cricket and their exposure to red-ball cricket is limited. Not enough four-day cricket. This means they have more chances of cracking under pressure,” said Misbah, who also resigned from the post of a PCB selector.

"India took time to process and develop and they made gradual investments in their system after the 90s. There is no quick fix to the system," added Misbah, Pakistan's most successful Test captain., who retired in 2017.

What does Pakistan cricket actually need?

According to Misbah, PCB's recent trend of bashing the players after any poor show and put them down mentally also has a role to play in their downward spiral. “It becomes very difficult for our players to regain form and confidence,” said Misbah, before adding that Pakistan cricket need a consistency, patience and a long-term plan.

"We shouldn't panic and do cosmetic surgery because of pressure. We need to analyse performances and the situation and then decide how to move forward," Misbah said. “Unfortunately we are used to taking reactive decisions in Pakistan cricket.”

Among the cricketers asked to return home were Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad. In fact, Salman Agha led the side in the first Test in Leeds after regular skipper Babar Azam had to sit out due to an injury.

Saim Ayub, Abdullah Fazal and Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Saad Baig, Mohammad Imran (also known as Imran Randhawa) and Razaullah (all five) were named as replacements and asked to join the side in England.

Pakistan cricket becomes topic of global criticism

The squad overhaul put Pakistan cricket into another embarrassment, as former cricketers (national and overseas) criticised the call. Even captain Babar was not spared as he was called a "dummy" skipper who couldn't even take a stand for his own players and team.

Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden said nothing changed in Pakistan cricket because of its chaotic environment. “I really enjoy and enjoyed my time working with Pakistan. Nothing’s changed, though," Hayden said, while speaking at the Wisden Cricket podcast.

"That’s not an environment, you know; a pressure cooker is an environment for the middle, not for all the other peripheral things that happen outside. And it’s just too difficult an environment to be consistent because this is the formula,” said Hayden, who played 273 matches for Australia.