How to Fix Pakistan Cricket: Take the Game Back to the People
Pakistan’s Asia Cup collapse in Dubai was not an accident. It was the outcome of a system that rewards reputations, protects elites, and ignores the real heartbeat of cricket in Pakistan, the boys who grow up bowling on rough grounds in Dera Ghazi Khan, batting on cement pitches in Balochistan, or dreaming on dusty fields in interior Sindh. Until cricket is returned to these forgotten corners, Pakistan will keep producing the same fragile, recycled failures.
Break the City Monopolies
For decades, selection has been captured by a handful of cities. Lahore and Karachi dominate not because they alone produce talent, but because they control access. Every Pakistani knows stories of boys from Darya Khan Dera Ismail Khan, Multan, Bahawalpur, Larkana, Swat, Turbat, Gilgit, and Gawadar who dazzled at school or club level only to vanish because they had no “parchi.” This stranglehold must end.
The PCB must enforce regional balance in squads. Each province, each zone should have equal pathways to the national team. The raw pace of a village boy from Mianwali or the fearless stroke play of a teenager from Khuzdar is no less valuable than the polished product of an elite Lahore academy. But unless the system opens doors, they will remain invisible.
Invest in Schools and Colleges
The decline of school and college cricket is perhaps Pakistan’s greatest tragedy. Once, inter-collegiate tournaments in Punjab and Karachi produced national stars. Today, that pipeline is broken. Instead, the PSL has become a shortcut, rewarding only the most visible few.
If Pakistan is serious about merit, the first rupee of investment must go into schools and colleges across the country. Organised tournaments, proper coaches, and decent pitches in Faisalabad, Sukkur, Mastung, Skardu, and Abbottabad would uncover the hidden majority of talent. Without this grassroots revival, the national team will remain a hostage of reputational recycling.
Rebuild Club and Regional Cricket
Club cricket has withered under mismanagement. Once the engine of discovery, it is now an afterthought. Every region should have a properly funded club structure feeding into a regional team. Quetta Gladiators in the PSL is not “regional cricket”, it is branding. Real regional cricket means Balochistan fielding its own first-class side, Sindh producing batters from interior towns, and Saraikistan becoming more than a token label.
A merit-based Pakistan cannot emerge from a hollowed-out domestic system. Four-day and one-day tournaments between genuine regional teams would not only toughen players but also ensure no boy from a remote area is left behind.
Professionalise Selection
The current selection model is opaque and vulnerable to influence. Selection panels must be independent, rotating, and accountable. All trials and camps should be live-streamed, with open statistics on player performance in school, club, and domestic cricket. Only then can Pakistanis trust that their sons are not being discarded because of accent, postcode, or connections.
Build Facilities in Neglected Regions
It is unconscionable that Pakistan spends lavishly on PSL lights in Karachi while entire districts in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan lack a single turf pitch. PCB funds must be redirected: indoor academies in Turbat and Gilgit matter more than another five-star stadium in Lahore. Cricket cannot remain the privilege of a few cities; it must be a national asset, accessible in every region.
Accountability at Every Level
Finally, performance must matter. Batters who collapse repeatedly, bowlers who leak runs without control, captains who mismanage crunch moments, none should survive without consequences. Similarly, PCB officials who fail to deliver grassroots revival should be shown the door. Until accountability becomes the culture, mediocrity will thrive.
A National Game for a National Future
Pakistan does not lack talent; it lacks honesty in nurturing it. The real future of Pakistan cricket is not in the gated academies of Lahore but in the schoolyards of Dera Bugti, the colleges of Peshawar, the clubs of Bahawalpur, and the streets of Hyderabad. If Pakistan cricket is rebuilt from these roots, the national team will once again reflect the resilience, diversity, and hunger of the people. If not, Dubai’s humiliation will repeat itself, over and over again.
End Lahore’s Monopoly: Cricket Belongs to All Pakistan
