Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi fading away as Pakistan Cricket Team's sorry tale trigger concerns

They say that home advantage is one of the biggest factors that swing a cricket match in the favour of the hosts. But it seems that it isn't true in Pakistan's case.

The Pakistan Cricket Board is adopting all measures to try and bring international cricket back into the country. Though some teams have toured Pakistan recently fan turnout has been low. In a desperate measure to attract more spectators to the stadium, the PCB kept the ticket price as low as 15 INR for the general seats. That's lower than what a samosa would cost in most parts of the country.

Despite all that, the board is getting no support from its stars. Let alone winning matches at home, the cricketers have struggled in their own backyard.

Pakistan's recent show on home soil is a sorry tale. In the last 30 months, they have lost the Test series vs Australia, lost the T20I and Test series against England, drawn the Test series and lost the ODI series vs New Zealand and have now lost a Test at home against Bangladesh for the first time in history.

PAKISTAN'S SORRY TALE
Last 30 months at home

Lost the Test series vs Aus
Lost the T20I series vs Eng
Lost the Test series vs Eng
Drawn the Test series vs NZ
Lost the ODI series vs NZ
Lost a Test match for the first time vs Ban

Let's dissect what's going wrong for Pakistan:

No Show Babar

A major area of concern for them is Babar Azam's form in whites. The former Pakistan skipper has failed to live up to the expectations and hasn't scored a half-century in his last 14 Test innings.

A clueless captain

Ever since Shan Masood replaced Babar as the new Test skipper, things went further downhill for Pakistan. With the defeat against Bangladesh, he became the first-ever Pakistan skipper to lose his first 4 matches in whites. His decision to go in with an extra pacer in the 1st Test on a wicket that assisted spin was also criticised.

Pacers disappoint

Once known to give the batters nightmares, Pakistani pacers appear a mere shadow of themselves in home Tests these days. Shaheen Shah Afridi, the spearhead of their pace attack has failed to produce breakthroughs.

Since January 2022, Shaheen has bowled 136 overs in home Test matches but has managed to produce just 11 wickets. He was hit for 424 runs during this period and had a concerning average of over 38.

SHAHEEN'S POOR SHOW AT HOME
Tests since 2022

Overs 136
Wickets 11
Runs Given 424
Average 38.5

Pakistan's poor show in their backyard was once again the reason for them languishing in the second half of the World Test Championship standings. Currently, on the 8th spot, Pakistan need to win the remaining 8 Tests to stand a chance of making it to the WTC final.