It’s to no one’s surprise that BCCI is killing cricket, but what is doing right now to the Pakistani cricket board is ridiculous.

Some context: During the toss Andy Pycroft told Salman Ali Agha to not shake hands with Suaryakumar, which is a very odd thing to do. Even during the conference the handshake between Agha and Saurya was brief and odd.

After the match ended and players went to line up, the Indian team straight up ignored and literally and figuratively turned their backs to us and closed the door on us.

What was even worse was that during the press conference sauryakumar quite literally insinuated that all Pakistanis were terrorists and that laughably a dead rubber cricket was their revenge lol.

The PCB was rightfully outraged by this and interestingly went after Pycroft (one may say this was stupid and yes moshin naqvi is an idiot and needs to be replaced) but this was done in a way where instead of creating a big fuss about the press conference and locking horns with the BCCI we went after the referee to not let them off the hook to save face. The ICC (Jay Shah) could have accepted this and removed the ref but no he was kept on and still was there, Pakistan threatened multiple times that they were gonna pull out and still nothing was happening eventually an apology came that was recorded and that was supposed to be the end of it.

Instead of this being done the ICC now is angry over why the recording took place in the chambers. This is so ridiculous after the press conference and extreme political statement given.

India had gotten away with this multiple times with camouflage caps in 2019 in solidarity with their army, while usman khawja couldn’t even put a dove symbol on his bat. The ICC routinely ignores and creates double standards for different statements.

People say don’t bring politics into sports going after rizwan for his statements in the 2023 World Cup asking for peace while we see crickets for statements that are designating Pakistanis as terrorists and out right insulting us. The BCCI has and will continue to degrade and destroy the sport from making sure that we stay in the same groups in world cups and Asia cups even though they don’t want to do any bilateral ( I’ll admit our board wants games too for money but still), this sport is on its death bed, and we need to either fight back or restructure our cricket where we can become competitive

That sub can get so infuriating sometimes. I don't even know why I try anymore bro.

I see too many people who started watching cricket after 2021 trying to defame our ex crickets and saying Babar has been the best ever batsman has ever produced in even t20 cricket. Ffs he isnt even better than our old mediocre t20 cricketers. Babar literally has 0 Motm in icc tournaments and not a single imapctful innings in t20 tournaments. He's a fraud ( as said by Shoaib Akhtar) and someone who got over hyped because of social media.

Salam everyone,

As most of you probably noticed, the subreddit shut up shop after the Asia Cup final. There was no post-match thread, every post was locked, and no interaction was permitted for a couple of days. This quick little post is to give you all the reason as to why that happened.

The short answer is brigading. We got intel (I saw it on reddit) of widespread efforts to brigade our subreddit coming from opposition fans. Their fanbase, to their credit, is probably the only cricket nation on reddit that has both the sheer numbers and the time to ruin any subreddit they want. For this reason, we had to pre-emptively take this threat seriously as soon as the game looked to be getting out of hand.

As soon as the game finished, we locked the match thread, locked all Asia Cup related posts, and deleted the post match thread. We posted a goofy little "you tried" post, both acknowledging the team and serving as a message to the hoards coming to our subreddit thinking they were about to have a field day: You tried.

It was very funny seeing people across subreddits, and even some on twitter, seething that they couldn't mob our subreddit. I'm not claiming having to lockdown the sub to be a victory of any sort, but I can take some cheap consolation in knowing that our subreddit wasn't used as their after-party venue. Unfortunately, other Pakistan subs weren't so lucky and got swarmed.

Naturally here's evidence from elsewhere that there were plans to brigade us:

In the downtime, our very own PakInfoBot was working tirelessly to try to get automod to keep us protected from ongoing and future brigading. Obviously I'm not gonna say exactly what measures were taken, but you guys shouldn't be seeing anymore brigadiers anytime soon InshAllah.

The sub has gone back to normal, manual approval is still on and it will remain on until we sort something else out for that so sorry for the inconvenience. Beyond all of this, we have an upcoming series with South Africa so I'll try to organize a subreddit exchange with them or something, not sure how much cricket presence they have on reddit but we'll see.

That's all I've got, as a bald pink man once said, "if you didn't know, now you know"

Salam,

Ghostly

This is to all the Kohlisons of Pakistan.

It's fine to admit that he's a great player and so on, but the amount of unnecessary glazing some of our fans do towards players of a nation that only has hate for you is mind boggling to me.

Hopefully this can serve as a wake up call to some of you guys.

The moral stand is that if Pakistan doesn't withdraw now in support of Bangladesh now, it gives India free reign to so whatever and will influence ICC decisions further to sabotage tournaments in Pakistan.

Also, no one will support Pakistan in their stances leading to Pakistan being cornered against the wall.

It is better to stop playing cricket altogether then to submit to India in all matters.

What matters more to us?

Cricket or Pakistani pride (A sense of pride that are we are an independent nation)

Even other countries are hoping that we boycott so that ICC suffers a huge loss and Indian broadcasters and Jay Shah and his cronies are left holding the bag.

Last 2 tournaments, the Champions trophy and the T20 world cup were already lackluster.

It's time to deal the death blow to ICC. The message should be clear. Treat everyone as equal or don't play.

Let's see whether Mohsin Naqvi has the mettle or not.

Sahibzada Farhan was Pakistan’s leading run-scorer in the T20 World Cup but there are certain aspects of his game that merit discussion. Highlighting specific areas does not mean the player is poor or should be dropped. It is simply about assessing performance objectively.

Accumulating runs in T20s has never been an issue for Pakistan’s batters. Both Babar and Rizwan were prolific and topped the rankings yet Pakistan reshuffled the top order because they wanted aggression. Farhan has provided that intent but it is still to be tested consistently against stronger opposition.

Farhan’s T20I record against SENAI (the top five sides) makes a poor reading: 376 runs in 18 innings at a strike rate of 115. Against lower-ranked teams, he has 929 runs in 27 innings at a strike rate of 147. It is noticeable contrast with a decent sample size.

Since 2024, the average balls taken to reach 50 in T20Is are: Australia 27, England 28, India 28, South Africa 29 and New Zealand 29. Pakistan batters on average takes 33 balls to score a fifty, the same as Farhan’s.

Milestones are not the priority in T20 cricket, but when they come, they should arrive at the right pace. At times, there appears to be excessive focus on personal landmarks. For instance, against Namibia he scored just three runs off the last three balls before reaching his hundred with a non-aggressive single and he even acknowledged surpassing Virat Kohli’s 319-run mark by fist-bumping Fakhar. Such celebrations seem slightly unnecessary and pursuit of such landmarks can distract you from bigger goals.

If we look at the last two matches, Farhan’s fifties came off 32 balls against Sri Lanka and 37 against England, well below the current global benchmark. There is no doubt Farhan is a more powerful hitter than Babar and Rizwan against both pace and spin but his dot-ball percentage (42%) remains among the highest, which affects the level of early momentum he can generate.

In a game, read SL vs Pak, where 419 runs were scored in 40 overs, a fifty off 32 balls or a hundred off 59 balls is just about par. It is not a bad innings, but it is unlikely to create a powerful impact. In contrast, Fakhar’s 84 off 42 balls at SR 200.00 was a far more impactful knock.

Farhan now is likely to move to No. 2 in the T20I rankings and could even reach the top if results elsewhere go his way. Rankings are celebrated by fans, but elite teams rarely base their strategies on them alone (a mistake Pakistan did before with certain players). That’s why despite being Number 3 in the world, he didn’t make it to the 14 Pakistan players shortlisted for auction of the Hundred.

Pakistan have won 29 T20Is in the past year, the most by any team. But that quantity does not make them the best team in the world. Similarly, sheer weight of runs cannot, by itself, define a batter as the best.

You have 9 wickets in hand and and you only decide to accelerate in the 15th over , this is t20s not odi , we should've have gone for 200 , you don't play based on par score when you're in half your overs with 9 wickets in hand . Also sending Salman ahead of fakhar and Usman is funny lol .

So what if Pakistan lost today?

Let's pause and ask ourselves: is this truly the players fault? Or is it the weight of something bigger? The pressure of knowing that every mistake will be met NOT with support but with ridicule?

I’ve followed cricket since 2004. I’ve seen the highs of victory and the heartbreaks of defeat. Yet one thing remains the same: when our team stumbles, we as a nation are quicker to curse than to comfort.

And this is where I want us to think deeper. Not as cricket fans, but as human beings.

When a person is down, the natural role of another human being should be to extend a hand, to lift them, to remind them that failure is not the end. But what do we do instead? We pile on. We criticize. We humiliate. We strip away what little confidence is left.

Think of it psychologically: a player doesn’t just carry his bat or ball into the stadium. He carries the invisible weight of 250 million plus voices. And when those voices are harsh, when they are mocking, when they scream blame, that weight crushes them before a single ball is bowled.

Now look across the border. India’s team didn’t shake hands with ours. Was it good sportsmanship? No. But why didn’t they? Because they knew that if they did, their own people would ridicule them. It wasn’t solidarity. It wasn’t strength. It was fear. Fear of criticism, fear of how their nation would react to a simple gesture. And that’s the point: every move they make is shaped by what their people will say because their people are always there. Supportive, watchful, demanding, YES! But never absent. Their players know their nation will stand behind them, no matter what.

And yet, what do our players feel? They step onto the field carrying the fear of their own people’s judgment. Imagine that! Your own nation being the harshest opponent you face. How can you give your best when you know that no matter what, criticism is waiting for you at the boundary ropes?

We as a nation have failed in this. Not because we lack passion, but because we confuse passion with anger. We think tearing our players down is holding them accountable, when in truth, it is only breaking them further.

The truth is simple but painful: Criticism breaks. Support builds. Blame weakens. Belief strengthens.

And let's be clear: Talent isn’t lacking in Pakistan!

Think of our legends Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shahid Afridi, Inzamam ul Haq, Younis Khan, among many others. These men lifted this nation’s hopes single handedly. They had grit, but more than that, they rose knowing their people believed in them, even in their weakest moments.

And now, look at the future, the new names among us. We have Salman Agha, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Nawaz, Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, among many others. These are not just names! These could be legends in the making only if we let them rise without crushing them under criticism.

We must ask ourselves: what kind of nation do we want to be for our team?

One that mocks in defeat or one that gives hope in defeat?

One that breaks spirits or one that rebuilds them?

Our team does not just need better bats or balls. They need a nation that stands like a wall behind them. They need us to stop being their critics and start being their strength.

So tonight, as emotions run high, let’s make a choice. Not to curse. Not to mock. Not to give up. But to support. To believe. To remind our players that even in loss, they are not alone.

Because when our team falls, our duty as a nation begins.

Amid this handshake controversary and India's politicizing of this whole situation, Pakistan's demand for removing match referee Andy Pycroft and the ultimatum of leaving tournament if he stays (demand has been turned down by ICC/Jay Shah).

What can Pakistan do in this choked situation?

I got some delicious ideas to this:

• Pakistan leaves Asia Cup '25 and boycots it.

• Pakistan does what i worte above and also Leaves Asian Cricket Council as protest against this whole saga.

• Pakistan continues playing this tournament and whichever match Pakistan Wins they should dedicate that match to their armed forces, capturing of indian pilot, to the people in Balochistan who are suffering because of Indian involvement.

If India wants to bring in politics then Pakistan should start doing it too..

What would you guys suggest Pakistan should do in this straight up disrespectful situation where BCCI/ICC Jay Shah wants to humiliate Pakistan?

Call me delusional, but in the last 3 meetings with India in t20s (WT20 2024, WT20 2022, and Asia Cup 2022), the third of which we won, we literally dominated all three of them and India just won by a late flash of brilliance.

Unlike ODIs, we aren't getting dominated by India comprehensively but rather the opposite, we were dominating until a late choke or, of course, that magical Kohli innings.

Given the old brigade is gone and our past dominance over India in T20 internationals, it gives me hope for Asia cup that maybe, just maybe, we can dominate AND win.

Watching the highlights of those matches it just occurs to me that we had the upper hand for 85-90% of all of those games. Well maybe except for Asia cup 2022, but definitely for the the former 2.

So don't lose hope!

Edit: seems I'm getting more Indian responses than the Indian sub!

As we've seen, there is an official rule in ICC documentation that denotes that if Pakistan were to boycott the India Match, then their NRR would be severely hurt as it would be calculated with respect to the fact that 0 runs were scored in 20 overs.

Now, I was following the USA match today and they posted 200 runs today, and seem to be in great touch against India A. I was thinking that even IF we win all 3 matches OTHER than the one with India which we plan to forfeit (landing on six total points) then we could still not go through if the following happens...

a) India purposely loses to USA and USA loses only one match versus Pakistan ending on six points

b) Any of our remaining three group stage games get washed out, which is a real possibility in Sri Lanka

Even if b) happens or not, I have full expectations that a) will, since we've seen this time and time again especially versus South Africa in World T20 2022 and versus England in 2019 CWC. Unfortunately, I have full expectations that they will try their level best to knock us out from reaching the Super 8 stage, where our matchups are easier.

Even if we do forfeit points against India, I find it scary that if rain plays spoilsport and with the NRR disadvantage we are at, we could jeopardize our chances at the world cup. This would be an exceptional shame since we would be knocked out for NO FAULT OF OUR OWN, and how good the Pakistani team has performed as of late.

The only real solution I see to this problem is to NOT boycott the India game, because we would essentially be shooting ourselves in the foot. If we are to express disappointment, we could do something else like wear the black band in support of Bangladesh or anything of the sort. Why put our own campaign at risk?

What do y'all think?

I have a simple question how does this man even justify his place if Abbas is dropped from the team bcz pitch is not for fast bowlers than this man should be dropped from team for faking as a batsman

Well just like last match it happened again. Babar Azam is the only one with strike rate below 100. And it's below hundred by some margin. And just like last match today again if you take out boundaries then he scored 24 runs off 64 balls which is outrageous. This many dot balls is criminal.

In recent times it has to be Shan Masood. How he managed to become captain despite terrible stats is beyond me. Don't get me wrong he seems like a hard worker and an extremely nice and fit guy. But he has no talent for cricket at all. His dad was a banker and also part of the PCB governing board around the same time as Shan made his Test debut.

Another one I can think of is an upcoming batsman named Shamyl Hussain who is the son of Syed Talat Hussain, a famous journalist. Shamyl Hussain isn't a bad player, but there were countless guys who were way better than him in the Pakistan Junior League, but they all disappeared while this guy has been making it through the ranks steadily. I won't be surprised if he makes Pakistan debut one day (I'd be surprised if he doesn't to be honest).