The Spin | Times are bleak for Pakistan cricket but Test game offers hope of salvation

<p>Pakistan are suffering in short-form cricket but the WTC and its two-year cycle could work in their favour</p><p>Pakistan have a new captain. This, admittedly, evokes the same response as learning Watford have hired another manager. A lack of surprise to go with, um, wait, hasn’t he done this before? And so it goes that Shaheen Afridi, the left-arm quick now in charge of the 50-over side,<strong> </strong>was sacked as their Twenty20 captain last year after only one series at the helm.</p><p>Pakistani cricket being volatile is just another Tuesday. Go back 15 years and you’ll find a spot-fixing scandal that sent three star players to prison, unfolding while they were unable to host international matches, the exile prompted by a terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka men’s team in Lahore.<strong> </strong>In the middle of that they found time to win a World Cup.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/nov/05/times-are-bleak-for-pakistan-cricket-but-test-game-offers-hope-of-salvation">Continue reading...</a>