By the time Basit Ali settled in to record his post-mortem on his YouTube channel TheBasitAliShow, Pakistan were already out. What followed was a strong criticism of the selectors, the coaching staff, the pundits cheerleading from the sidelines, and the broader culture he believes has been quietly strangling Pakistani cricket for years.
“I have no regrets and there’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he said about Pakistan’s exit from the world cup.
The bare facts gave him plenty to work with. A 176-run partnership between Sahibzada Farhan, “the hero of the tournament from Pakistan,” and Fakhar Zaman had put Pakistan in a position to do something. Then five overs happened: eight wickets, 49 runs, elimination. “Just imagine,” Basit said on TheBasitAliShow. “If Pakistan had scored 65 runs instead of 36 in those final overs, they wouldn’t have been eliminated from the semis.”
He was quick to add, though, that New Zealand were better, and more deserving to play in the semifinals.
“They worked harder. Their mindset when it came to cricket was just stronger.”
The most sustained anger was reserved for the handling of Babar Azam and what Basit saw as Mike Hesson”s public undermining. “He openly said that Babar lacks intent in the powerplay and his strike rate is so low,” Basit said. “If he’s not suitable after 10 slow overs, then why was he selected in the team? Who picked him, and who’s going to hold the head coach accountable?”
Babar’s position in the order had been another source of irritation all tournament. “I’ve said this on TV before — don’t bat Babar at number four, that spot just doesn’t suit him,” Basit said. “You can’t even make that sacrifice — that the guy should come in at number three and score runs. So your intentions weren’t right.”
Usman Khan got a mention too. Forty-four runs off 20-odd balls against India, then quietly shuffled back down the order and forgotten about. “He’s just not a favourite, honestly,” Basit said, with the matter-of-fact tone of someone who has watched this particular pattern repeat itself too many times to be surprised by it. “The truth is, he’s not favoured.”
The absence of Abrar Ahmed was a thread Basit had been pulling at all tournament, and he wasn’t done with it. “The England match we lost — Abrar wasn’t there. Today, Usman Tariq got hammered, but Abrar needed to be there,” he said. “These are the things I never forget. When it comes to cricket, it’s my habit to make detailed notes — if I showed you, it’d fill pages.”
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Then there were the pundits. Former Pakistan cricketers were going on television and endorsing Shadab Khan as a future captain.
“Seriously — have some shame and give some real advice for the country,” he said. “You’ve represented this country. Is this what we get?”
Underneath all of it was a bigger argument: that Pakistan had essentially fielded a franchise team in national colours, with franchise priorities. “This Pakistan team seemed more like a franchise cricket team to me. Whenever the coach interferes in picking the team, this is exactly what happens. Don’t call it Pakistan’s team. Call it Mike Hesson’s team.”
He ended with a direct appeal to PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. “Chairman, surgery is needed. Bring in good people. Keep good advisors. Your cricket won’t improve in a year. Bring in people who have good service records, who understand cricket, and who can take your cricket forward at the junior level, step by step.
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“If your system gets strong, cricket will get better — otherwise, it won’t.”
