Asian teams in a rut!

Playing in their backyard has proved anything but beneficial for the majority of the Asian teams in the ongoing Champions Trophy especially for hosts Pakistan Both Pakistan and Bangladesh have already bitten the dust With not much hope of Afghanistan making it to the knockouts only India are keeping the Asian flag flyingMaximum views from AsiaWith as many as four of eight teams in the fray the fans were expecting these Asian teams to dominate in conditions they were familiar with As it is the South Asian region is known to generate the maximum viewership and revenue for the game It needs to be seen how the exit of the two Asian teams is going to affect the remainder of the tournament Hopefully India will compensate for their absences by going a long wayWith three Asian sides clubbed together Group A became a tournament within a tournament a virtual Asian Derby It was known that the format was such that a team that slips on the first step would find it very difficult to recover And that has been the case Pakistan could not get past New Zealand to begin with and Bangla Tigers were tamed by India first up and from there it was just a downward slide for these two teams Now only one of them can seek a consolation win when they clash in a deadrubber game tomorrowAlso ReadVidarbha bank on home advantage v sprightly KeralaHosting an ICC event after 29 years for Pakistan the outcome is nothing short of a disaster Foreign teams have restarted touring the country only recently and to encourage the crowds to come to the stadium in huge numbers it was imperative for Pakistan to do well in the tournament The hosts were expected to make the semifinals at least But that dream has been shattered and what implications that will have only time will tell Pakistan were a force to reckon with in squash and hockey But those days are well behind them Many experts feel cricket too may go the same way which would be a shame for international cricket As it is the IndiaPakistan matches are now considered overhyped due to the dwindling talent in Pakistan Former Pak players upsetFormer cricketers have come down heavily on PCBrsquos functioning In a social media video former Pakistan captain InzamamUlHaq did not hold back his frustration The former chief selector lamented Pakistanrsquos inability to perform on big occasions ldquoWe are not even standing anywhere We get knocked out right at the start The moment therersquos a little pressure we completely collapserdquo he saidldquoI am not disappointed at all by the defeat to India because I knew what would happenrdquo former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said in a short video on his X account ldquoYou canrsquot select five bowlers The whole world is playing six bowlers and you go with two allrounders this is just brainless and clueless managementrdquoThe former quick blamed the management for selecting a side that lacked the necessary skills and understanding to compete at the highest level ldquoI am really disappointed We canrsquot blame the kids Pakistan players the players are just as clueless as the team management is They donrsquot know what to dordquoIt needs to be seen how Pakistan will come out of this perilous situation It will be difficult for PCB to clean up its act as cricket governance is linked to national politics which itself is so uncertain most of the time For cricketrsquos popularity it is imperative for Pakistan to regain its status in world cricket How that will be achieved is anybodyrsquos guess