Pakistan Cricket Is Broken. Aqib Javed Says He Can Fix It. Not Everyone Agrees.
Twelve losses in sixteen Tests. Bottom of the WTC table. Four Test captains in three years. Pakistan cricket did not stumble into this mess, it walked in with its eyes open and kept going.
Aqib Javed is now the man holding the wreckage. As High Performance Director he sits above the selection committee and the coaching staff making structural decisions that will define Pakistan cricket for the next World Cup cycle and possibly beyond.
Some of what he is doing is genuinely smart. Some of it raises serious questions. Here is the full picture.
What Aqib Javed Actually Controls
He does not pick the playing eleven. What he does control is more important in the long run: contracts, NCA access, NOC approvals for overseas leagues and the player development pipeline from regional cricket to the Test arena.
In practice that gives him more influence over Pakistan cricket’s direction than the head coach. When Shan Masood was removed as captain Aqib explained the decision publicly. When selection raised eyebrows Aqib answered the questions. That visibility is a double-edged sword.
What Has Actually Changed at the NCA
The National Cricket Academy in Lahore has been restructured into a data-driven centre. The specific changes matter:
Individualized fitness screening has replaced the old model where a player was declared fit by running laps. Physios now assess hamstrings, calves, groins and adductors individually to catch structural imbalances before they become injuries. Pakistan’s fast bowler injury rate over the last two years has been among the highest in world cricket.
An Australian Athlete Management System now logs every delivery bowled by a contracted player across Pakistan. Coaches can remotely access a centralized server showing overs bowled, release speeds and accuracy percentages for players in regional cricket. Before this nothing was being tracked centrally.
Smart bowling machines linked to video screens have replaced traditional machines that removed the visual cue of a bowler running in. Batters now receive programmable sequences: two outswingers, one inswinger, one bouncer, all with a life-sized bowler projected on screen. Immediate self-analysis follows each session.
These are real improvements. The concern is that the NCA has promised overhauls before and the Test output stayed the same.
Explained: The New Central Contract System
This is the most significant policy change and the most contested.
Red-ball contracted players receive the highest retainers but are barred from global T20 franchise leagues freely. NOCs are limited to high-tier multi-day cricket like English County. Any red-ball player who refuses to complete a minimum of six domestic first-class matches in a season loses national contract eligibility automatically.
White-ball specialists receive lower base retainers because the board accepts they will earn more on the franchise circuit. Their NOCs are restricted to top-tier global leagues only.
Domestic four-day match fees have been restructured to roughly half a full Test match fee per game. The goal is to make domestic red-ball cricket financially attractive rather than a punishment for players not in the national squad.
Why this makes sense: Pakistan’s red-ball cricketers have been chronically underprepared because T20 leagues paid better. Fixing the financial incentive is the only sustainable way to rebuild depth.
Why it creates friction: Players from less wealthy backgrounds depend on franchise earnings in ways their counterparts from wealthier cricketing nations do not. Restricting NOCs creates resentment and that resentment does not stay in dressing rooms.
Selection Calls Aqib Has to Defend
Awais Zafar over Kamran Ghulam: Kamran missed virtually the entire prior domestic season through injury. The committee values recent multi-day form strictly. A fit and productive Awais Zafar earned selection on current evidence. Defensible even if harsh.
Ali Usman over Nauman Ali: In England and the West Indies pitches offer little natural turn so the spinner’s role becomes containment. Nauman Ali’s batting against quality pace has been repeatedly exposed and Pakistan already carry one of the weakest tail-ends in world cricket. Ali Usman offers similar bowling with more batting resistance lower down. Most analysts agree with this call.
Ubaid Shah fast-tracked: Pakistan’s bowling average speed dropped to around 126 km/h in recent Test series. At that pace international tailenders survive too easily. Raw velocity is the priority and Ubaid fits that demand. Whether pace alone produces Test wickets overseas the West Indies and England tours will confirm.
Ali Raza managed cautiously: Despite heavy hype around the teenage spinner Aqib confirmed the boy is physically underdeveloped for four-day demands. A structured loading program building from short spells before any first-class consideration is the plan. Rushing a fragile teenager has hurt Pakistan before. This caution is right.
Where Aqib Gets It Wrong
Public criticism of a sitting captain is poor leadership. When Aqib dissected Shan Masood’s tactical failures in press conferences while Masood was still captain it damaged Masood’s authority with the players. You can remove a captain. You can explain why. Detailed public criticism of someone still leading the side is poor man-management regardless of whether the criticism is accurate.
Babar’s return reveals a depth problem not a solution. Aqib acknowledged the committee chose Babar because he was the best available option not because he had earned the role back through form. Babar has averaged just over 27 in Test cricket since his first captaincy ended. A system two years in and still cycling back to a player removed three years ago does not have the depth it should by now.
“14 to 15 years behind global standards” is an admission not just an explanation. Aqib said this openly. It is honest. It is also a damning indictment of every administrator before him and it raises the question of whether the gap can close fast enough to matter for the 2027 World Cup cycle.
Raw pace still needs technical education to produce Test wickets. Aqib has spoken about unearthing bowlers touching 145 to 150 km/h including Abu Bakar at 146 km/h, Razaullah at 145+ and a raw find from Jhang named Qayyum touching 150+. Pakistan has found fast bowlers before. Converting them into sustained Test performers requires tactical and technical education around that raw talent. The NCA overhaul needs to show in actual performances not just training metrics.
The Gen Z Problem: Real or a Convenient Excuse?
Aqib argues that young players now access franchise wealth so early that the patience for first-class development has gone. A player bowling four PSL overs earns more than the old domestic four-day salary. That is a real structural problem across world cricket.
But it raises a fair counter: if the old domestic pay was inadequate the blame sits with the board that set it not the player who chose a better option.
The new fee structure attempts to fix this. Whether players trust PCB contract security more than a franchise deal is a cultural shift that takes years to prove not months.
Five Tests Will Tell More Than Any Press Conference
The West Indies and England tours across July, August and September 2026 are the first real test of whether anything Aqib has built translates to results. Five Tests in seven weeks under a returning captain with a squad featuring four uncapped players is either a bold reset or an overloaded gamble.
Babar needs runs. The fast bowlers need wickets on overseas pitches. The tail needs to hold. And the communication around selection needs to stop doing more damage than the actual selections.
Pakistan cricket has heard rebuilding plans before. The scoreboard is the only thing that has never lied.
