Azhar Ali links departmental cricket shutdown to Pakistan's struggles in Tests

KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali has asserted that the Green Shirts' recent struggles in Test cricket were due to the abolishment of departmental cricket in the country's domestic structure, which he dubbed as the "nursery for the national side".

Following their 2-0 away triumph over Sri Lanka in July 2023, the Green Shirts have managed to win just one series, which came at home against England in October 2024.

During that period, Pakistan have suffered defeats in away series against Australia, South Africa and Bangladesh, who also beat them 2-0 earlier this year on their home soil.

The Green Shirts also hosted West Indies and South Africa but failed to secure a series triumph as they managed to salvage a 1-1 draw in each assignment.

The national team's disappointing run in the format led to the captaincy change, which saw Babar Azam replace Shan Masood in the role ahead of their two-match away series against West Indies.

Although the Green Shirts managed to draw the series against the Men in Maroon by prevailing in the second Test, which marked their first triumph in nine away international red-ball fixtures and came after a gap of three years, their former captain Azhar insisted their recent struggles were the culmination of departmental teams being sidelined from the domestic first-class cricket over the past few years.

"Department cricket is a big need for Pakistan. It's contributed a lot to our cricket. We shut it down a few years ago, and my personal view is that the slide in Pakistan's international cricket right now has a lot to do with department cricket being shut down," Azhar said in an interview with an international cricket news website.

"After that it took department cricket a long time to recover. It was the biggest nursery for Pakistan cricket, and today again it feels like it's being pushed out," he added.

The former top-order batter, who represented Pakistan in 97 Tests during his glittering career, also expressed discontent with the reduction of teams in domestic cricket before questioning the financial structure, claiming that he had seen emerging players leaving the country following the abolishment of departmental cricket.

"It's easy to say, reduce the teams in domestic cricket. But if you're not getting financially rewarded for it, how many kids will be able to afford to take up cricket? I've seen young players who had to leave Pakistan after department cricket was abolished here. They didn't see a future here."