Last Updated on 5 months by Charbel Coorey
Pakistan’s recent poor display in cricket is exacerbated by their underwhelming performances in the T20 World Cup 2024. The team’s inconsistent showing has raised concerns among fans and analysts, prompting a closer examination of the underlying causes.
Gary Kirsten, the head coach, pinpointed poor fitness levels and lack of unity among the players as key reasons for the early elimination. Kirsten further ascribed that the future team selection should prioritise unity, fitness, and skill development.
Mental and physical fitness the key issues in Pakistan cricket
In sports, the ongoing team woes are highly linked with the players’ cognitive ability or intelligence quotient (IQ level) and athleticism or physical fitness. While cognitive skills are the invisible attributes not directly associated with sports performance, they substantially influence adaptation, strategic thinking, and decision-making. Strategic thinking is one of the important facets of modern time games and essential to a team’s achievement. Attributes such as mental toughness, flexibility, knowledge of the game, and decision-making—often referred to as the “sports brain” or “sports cognitive function” — have a big impact on players’ performance.
It is evident that when composure and strategic intelligence are needed, the Pakistan cricket team’s deficiencies in terms of game awareness, making decisions under pressure, and mental toughness have been exposed. Over the years, the team’s poor performance may suggest a cognitive gap in handling crunch situations in the game and capitalising on opportunities.
Another area of concern is retaining high fitness levels especially in T20s where games can frequently be decided by narrow margins. Physical fitness is equally important for the longer Test matches. Unfortunately, the Pakistan cricket team’s physical strength on the field mirrors their recent problem, where moments of brilliance or athleticism change the course of the game.
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Change to the captain alone won’t solve Pakistan’s problems
In the modern era of international cricket, players have a fundamental obligation to keep themselves fit. However, deficiencies in skills like agility and athleticism have hampered the team’s overall performance, leading to batting errors and fielding mistakes. Their sluggishness in the field and lack of assessment of conditions during the games have rendered them vulnerable to the opponents’ exploitation.
The absence of interaction between cognitive abilities and physical prowess accounts for the dismal performance of the Pakistan cricket team. While Pakistan has been endowed with rich talent, mere talent alone can bring a player to the international arena without guaranteeing exceptional performance. Thus, a comprehensive strategy should be devised to improve players’ general abilities including mental and tactical planning. Acknowledging the value of both mental and physical skills helps narrow performance gaps and contend successful contention in the international arena.
In recent times, Pakistan’s cricket team has significantly underperformed, necessitating incremental efforts to improve its performance and competitiveness. In order to succeed, a dual approach—focusing on improvement at both domestic and national levels— is a prerequisite. Changing the captain alone won’t fix the issues.
In the last few years, Pakistan has not played cricket against the competitive teams. To develop potential and strength, it’s imperative to establish a competitive domestic environment and make infrastructural investments in domestic cricket, including leagues, coaching programs, and talent identification programs. Pakistan can improve its cricketing levels by bringing together exposure to elite competition with a strong local cricket base.
