'Cricket will be dead in Pakistan if...': Danish Kaneria's bold statement on players' performances

Pakistan Cricket is under scrutiny for the team's performances at the International level. Be it Tests, ODI or T20Is, Pakistan are continuously punching below their weight, drawing criticism from all around the corner. 

Recently, the Men in Green suffered an embarrassing Test series white-wash to Bangladesh at home under Shan Masood's captaincy. The Bangla Tigers became the second team to white-wash Pakistan at their home in a series of two or more Test matches. England were the first ones to do so in a three-match series in 2022. 

Not only in Tests, but the team has underperformed even in the T20Is and the ODIs too. They suffered a loss to the USA in the T20 World Cup 2024 and went down to Afghanistan in the ODI World Cup 2023 too. 

The players' performances have also come under question. Babar Azam is continuously punching under his weight, especially in the Test format. He hasn't scored a fifty in his last 16 innings. 

Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria spoke to India TV and highlighted the issues behind Pakistan Cricket. The former leg-spinner stated that the Cricket in Pakistan will be



dead if players give such performances. "Cricket will be dead in Pakistan if the players continue to dish out such poor performances," Kaneria said.

Kaneria also highlighted that politics is involved in the selection process. "There is politics involved in the selection process and it is the main cause behind Pakistan's pathetic performance. 

"Cricketers like Fawad Alam, Abid Ali and others didn't perform in a series of two and were thrown out of the mix. However, there are players in the current team like Babar Azam who haven't scored a fifty in the last 12 or 13 innings but still are a part of the playing XI," Kaneria said. 

"Players like Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan among others do not want to play red-ball cricket in the domestic circuit. The board feels that it can get players from the PSL. But the standard of PSL is not great.

Only those foreign players play in the PSL who aren't picked in any other leagues. Unlike in the IPL, players are compelled to perform. If an international star fails to perform in the IPL then he is not picked at the auction. Steve Smith is a big example," he added.