Ravichandran Ashwin slams ‘musical chairs’ between Shaheen Afridi, Babar Azam due to Pakistan’s sudden leadership changes

New Delhi: Pakistan cricket is currently navigating a demanding period, characterized by a string of unexpected defeats and ongoing leadership upheaval. The team’s latest 2-Zero loss to Bangladesh in a house Test series has marked a huge low, as it is miles the primary time Bangladesh has triumphed over Pakistan in a Test series. Additionally, below Babar Azam’s captaincy, the team faced a surprising defeat to hosts the United States within the T20 World Cup, followed by a loss to India, leading to their elimination from the group stage.

These latest losses have, therefore, change into shocks for the fans’ expectations in addition to to debates over increased disappointment within the dressing room. Stories of internal politics and uncertainty behind the dual roles of the captain in an identical way fuel uncertainty and make the team unpredictable, casting a cloud on the very long time performance of such teams.

Pakistan cricket has experienced a ‘musical chairs’ scenario in leadership, with frequent changes in latest times. Following Pakistan’s exit from the 2023 World Cup, former captain Babar Azam resigned from the limited-overs captaincy. Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi in brief took over the T20I leadership but became soon replaced by Babar, simplest for Babar to step down again earlier this month, highlighting the ongoing turmoil within the team’s management.

The domestic red-ball cricket by Pakistan has been disastrous with their team now now not winning a test on home soil for nearly three years-a statistic that speaks of an actual shabby situation. Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s frontline spinner who had led the us to back-to-back series wins against Bangladesh and won the Player of the Series award, presented his views in regards to the current instability in Pakistan cricket.

In a widely shared video, Ashwin commented that the frequent changes in captaincy have created confusion within the team, leading players to listen more on their individual performances in place of prioritizing the collective success of the side.

“I am speaking the reality after I say that the current state of Pakistan cricket and the phase they are going through makes me feel somewhat sorry. Because an awful lot of essentially the most remarkable cricketers have played for Pakistan, and it became any such great team. Everytime you study it from a cricketer’s standpoint, it truly is a proud cricketing nation. And where are they lacking in skill? They have gotten so many skilled players,” Ashwin said.

“And rarely ever, their whole musical chairs situation is really something. The music keeps playing, and that they just have in mind grabbing a chair; that’s the way it feels. Within the 2023 World Cup, they lost, after which Babar (Azam) resigned. Then (Shaheen) Afridi became made captain, but Babar became reinstated for limited overs, and Shan Masood became made the Test captain. And study the situation now – Pakistan hasn’t won a Test match at home. I mean, they haven’t won a Test match for an extended time, maybe around One thousand days. It’s been almost three years,” said Ashwin.

Ashwin emphasized that the unpredictability surrounding the Pakistan cricket setup compels players to listen more on their individual performances in place of prioritizing the team’s collective success.

“What would I think as a cricketer? Should I focal point on my game or on the team? Every cricketer also may be so unstable within the dressing room that he's going to initiate concerned about himself and can think less in regards to the team,” said Ashwin.

Essentially the most simple leadership on this side now is from Shan Masood since he became appointed as Test captain last year. He's going to guide the Pakistani team on this three-test series against England, who initiate their tour in Multan.