Mohammad Yousuf: “A lot of the players after beating India in 2021, fortunately or unfortunately, started thinking that nobody is better than us. They became a bit disrespectful”
Image courtesy of: Unsplash
Legendary batsman Mohammad Yousuf believes the downfall of Pakistan cricket began after the national team defeated India by 10 wickets in the 2021 T20 World Cup as players started to become “a bit disrespectful”.
He noted that some members of the side “started thinking that nobody is better than us”, suggesting this mindset contributed to the team’s decline to its current state.
Yousuf also stressed the importance of a willingness to improve, pointing out that greats like Saeed Anwar and Inzamam-ul-Haq were always receptive to advice from legends such as Javed Miandad.
“A lot of the players after beating India in 2021, fortunately or unfortunately, started thinking that nobody is better than us. They became a bit disrespectful. If your head coach is talking, you have to listen to him. The downfall of Pakistan cricket began after that win. You have to be grounded,” he said on the How Does It Work? podcast as quoted by NDTV.
“We have had great players like Saeed Anwar and Inzamam-ul-Haq, but they always listened to great players like Javed Miandad. Whether they took their advice or not was a different thing, but they always remained grounded. One should always look to improve in this aspect.”
Pakistan recently played two Tests against Bangladesh and three ODIs against Australia, which they lost 2-0 and won 2-1 respectively.
Next up will be a two-Test series against the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago from July 25 to August 6.
Pakistan will then tour England for three Tests, which will be held between August 19 and September 13.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies Test Series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah
Pakistan Squad for England Test series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel (subject to fitness), Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah