Advertisement
Advertisement
Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has shared his views on the national team’s struggles in the longest format of the game, citing the need for improvement in the domestic structure.
Speaking during an interview with a sports platform, Afridi emphasized the need for domestic structure and experimentation within the Pakistan team.
“Once you raise the standard of your domestic cricket, all three formats will improve,” he said.
“The biggest mistake we make is experimenting with the national team. A player is often selected based on just one or two good innings in the PSL. Entry into the Pakistan team should not be so easy,” Shahid Afridi elaborated.
The 48-year-old mentioned Pakistan Shaheens and talent at the domestic level while stressing on a challenging process to represent the Pakistan team.
“If someone shows talent, they should be made to play at the lower levels — in domestic and first-class cricket. The process of making it into Shaheens (Pakistan’s ‘A’ team) shouldn’t be easy either. It should be challenging so players understand what it takes to represent Pakistan,” Shahid Afridi stated.
“The most important thing is to invest at the domestic and grassroots levels — bring in qualified coaches and quality mentors, and strengthen the structure at the foundation,” he concluded.
For the unversed, Pakistan will start their ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-2027 campaign with a series against South Africa at home.
Overall, in this cycle, the Pakistan team will play 13 matches, which is fewer than Zimbabwe’s 11 Tests in 2025, despite Zimbabwe not being part of the WTC.
Moreover, Pakistan’s recent Test performance has been underwhelming, starting with the inaugural ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2019-2021 cycle, where they finished in fifth place.
In the second cycle from 2021 to 2023, Pakistan finished in seventh place after playing 14 matches.
During the recently concluded 2023-2025 WTC cycle, Pakistan languished at the bottom of the table, winning only five out of 14 Test matches.
READ: Former Pakistan captain calls for Babar Azam’s return ahead of Asia Cup 2025
