Why was Steve Smith, after entering international cricket arena primarily as a leg-spinner, eventually given a batting role in Australian team? Why is Joe Root not picked for T20 Internationals by England? Why does India use Jasprit Bumrah selectively in different formats?

Simply because each of these countries have a well-established, comprehensive professional cricketing system based on concrete reasoning and merit. The structure meticulously identifies the player’s calibre and utility for the team.

Sometimes, it is the player who himself makes the call rationally. After making a timely decision to retire from T20 Internationals following India’s victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup and then quitting Test cricket last year, legendary batter Virat Kohli remains candid about his chances of playing the 2027 50-over World Cup.

“If I can add value to the environment that I’m a part of and the environment feels like I can add value I’ll be seen,” the player with 14,797 ODI runs under his belt at a superb average of 58.71 in 311 games, intelligently responded when asked about his prospects of featuring in next year’s global event recently.

Pat Cummins, the Australian Test and ODI captain, and his belligerent compatriot Travis Head turned down lucrative offers from an Indian Premier League franchise group recently as the duo prioritised national duty above every other activity.

In Pakistan cricket, however, the situation is poles apart. Here valid reasons for any decision — taken by officials as well as players — are seldom to be found. As a result, Pakistan is plummeting in all formats with no signs of rationality in sight.

If losing four consecutive Tests to Bangladesh does not prompt our administrators, players and officials to shape up and devise a grand recovery plan, then nothing will!

Talking of player-related anomalies in contemporary Pakistan cricket, one earnestly feels the most glaring case is of none but Babar Azam.

No matter how much support and fame a player like Babar receives from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and fans, it remains a fact that the right-hander — with sustained participation in red-ball games — could have achieved more in Test cricket than he has achieved so far.

Appearing in mere 37 first-class matches since 2010 does not give an encouraging signal. Babar’s obvious struggles against top-notch spinners in international cricket is a testament to the fact that the batter could have polished his skill-set by competing in domestic first-class circuit or English county competition early in his career.

The ultra-enthusiastic fans of Babar may argue that Kohli too featured in just 33 first-class outings in the past 20 years. The accolades earned by Kohli in all formats of international contests since his emergence in 2008 are unmatched, and cannot be compared with Babar’s, one should humbly accept.

Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan touched the 10,000-run mark in Tests through sheer hard work. Though not as aesthetic as Babar, Younis made himself solid as a rock by appearing in as many as 111 first-class games in around 18 years.

Shaheen Shah Afridi, 26, is another highly appropriate example when one probes the Test match selection.

Where in this world will one find a pacer featuring in modern-day cut-throat five-day Tests with just nine red-ball matches under his belt in nine years! How can a selector justify that Shaheen’s one first-class match per year since 2017 is enough to judge the lanky pacer’s skill-set and endurance for highly competitive, grinding Test matches?

On the other hand, the 26-year-old fast bowler Khurram Shahzad, who appeared in a Test in Sylhet against Bangladesh recently after almost one and a half years to claim eight wickets in the match, has competed in as many as 65 first-class games since his debut in 2017 — the same time span. Moreover, his overall stats in red-ball games are better than Shaheen’s. Who must have learned and develop the art of pace bowling, and endurance, more in different playing conditions against various opponents in the same time period: a nine-match player or a 65-game campaigner?

Mohammad Abbas, another pacer who played in both the Bangladesh Tests recently, has endured in 188 first-class outings, other than his 29 Tests, since 2009 while Hasan Ali, another Pakistan fast bowler of the same series who has played in 27 Tests so far, has 63 first-class games to his credit since his debut back in 2013.

If these pacers have been appearing in first-class games for years, then one will definitely like to know the criterion behind Shaheen’s selection for Tests despite the left-armer’s near absence from red-ball games for nine long years. Is there any exception in this case?

Shadab Khan is another case in point. Perhaps, he is the luckiest cricketer in Pakistan during the past nine years or so. The leg-spinner, who last played an ODI back in the 2023 World Cup, from nowhere has been recalled for the forthcoming three-match home series against Australia.

The all-rounder (though stats do not exactly suggest this) — having appeared in 124 T20 Internationals and 70 ODIs — has badly struggled on most of the occasions to prove his credentials in white-ball cricket. On what performance is he being brought back for the ODI duty?

Though the national team’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson has clearly insisted that Pakistan need to broaden the pool of players ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup, it seems the situation on ground has not changed much. While teams like Bangladesh and Ireland have improved with better player management and strict selection criterion in recent years, Pakistan have declined alarmingly.

The PCB, if it really wants to do something positive and concrete that can steer Pakistan out of the present multi-pronged crisis, it must take all its decisions on the basis of solid reasoning and merit. This will require avoiding giving exceptions to any player, only for the sake of long-term improvement. Players, particularly the veterans, in this regard must keep the benefit of the team on top above everything.

Otherwise, Pakistan cricket, having a rich legacy, is set to fade away, sooner or later.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2026