New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS): Former captain Zaheer Abbas voiced his concern about the current state of Pakistan cricket, stating that it is affecting the global cricket economy. He said if Pakistan performs well in ICC tournaments, it would boost the overall financial health of the sport.
Lately, Pakistan Cricket has been one of the most unstable cricket boards in the world. With every government change, a new chairman is appointed along with numerous other changes, which have negatively impacted the state of cricket in the country.
The once-dominant team has suffered a significant decline in recent years, with disappointing performances in major tournaments and a historic loss to Bangladesh after their group stage exit from the T20 World Cup.
"If Pakistan does well at ICC tournaments, the overall monetary health of cricket will further improve," Abbas said at the Cricket Predicta Conclave.
The defeat to Bangladesh in the Test series was a particularly bitter pill to swallow, as it exposed Pakistan's weaknesses across multiple facets of the game.
The former batter, famously known as the "Bradman of Asia" also alerted the gathering on the imminent danger faced by Test cricket amidst the emergence of new formats of the game. The 77-year-old strongly believes that the essence of the game lies in its longest format, where players are challenged to dig deep and showcase their true abilities.
"Cricket has changed. The style has changed. Money has come into the game. Players are happy but they always have to remember that Test cricket is the real cricket. This is how it is known who is how good player. It truly tests the players' character, resilience, mental strength, and consistency. In such a situation, players should not distance themselves from the basics of cricket and the one who has the basics can fit in any format," he added.
Former batting-allrounder Mudassar Nazar, considered as the man with “Golden Arm” said that with the changing cricket, players should bring changes in their game but their game should always be based on the basics.
"We have to prepare players for a new kind of cricket but if we take them away from the basics, they cannot succeed," he said.