Allow Afghan players to play for Pakistan

[shariqnoor]

This will be a controversial opinion and subject as well but I believe Pakistan can actually go and emulate England in one form and that is to import players for the national team.

If one does not want to live in denial, then one will readily see that Afghanistan has more cricketing talent right now than Pakistan.

And if we really dig deep, most of them have Pakistani NICs or have been born in Pakistan. I believe Mohammad Shahzad even lives in Pakistan currently.

So why can't Pakistan do an England and offer these Afghanis a shot at being able to represent Pakistan when they hold Pakistani NICs anyways. Give them a passport if they've lived more than 4 years in Pakistan.

Mohammad Nabi could've and should've been playing for Pakistan instead of Afghanistan. Look at Rashid Khan's talent. Mujeeb ur Rehman. These guys are exceptional.

Looking at the players Pakistan is producing, some of these Afghanistan players would walk into our team. These guys even hold Pakistan documents so why can't we let them play for Pakistan.

England have long benefited from having South African and NZ players playing for them. We cab also try and poach talent from Afghanistan. Will only help our national team.

Controversial subject but not outrageous.

[Rana]

They should be allowed.

If England can have players who were born in WI and South Africa, why can Pakistan not be allowed Afghans?

[Major]

Pakistan could use these guys, especially someone like mujeeb ur rehman.

[NishanKonar]

Bigger question should be why few million Afghans in refugee camps are producing such amazing talents with their rag tag system - that's something Pakistan should study & emulate. Only then Pakistan can unearth more talents given their 20 crore population compared to few million Afghans growing up in refugee camps

[Rana]

Bigger question should be why few million Afghans in refugee camps are producing such amazing talents with their rag tag system - that's something Pakistan should study & emulate. Only then Pakistan can unearth more talents given their 20 crore population compared to few million Afghans growing up in refugee camps

I’m sure India studied this for decades considering they could only produce 130kmh bowlers until Bumrah popped up. How could a country with a population that is 1/5th of the Indian population keep producing 140+ bowlers?

[Varun]

̶P̶a̶k̶i̶s̶t̶a̶n̶ ̶ ̶ Afghanistan me bohut talent hai!

[gazza619]

Despite the fact that we are at our lowest in world cricket and with all due respect to Afghan players, only Rashid Khan can make the cut to Pakistan team and that too only in limited overs cricket.

[Last Monetarist]

It will never happen due to diplomatic problems between the two countries. It will become a huge diplomatic crisis once the BCCI inevitably gets involved.

[NishanKonar]

I’m sure India studied this for decades considering they could only produce 130kmh bowlers until Bumrah popped up. How could a country with a population that is 1/5th of the Indian population keep producing 140+ bowlers?

India did produce quick bowlers in the past. In 1999 World Cup - Javagal Srinath was officially 2nd fastest after Shoaib Akhtar

But on serious note - India did learn from Pakistan ( & Denis Lilee at MRF Academy ) which is why we have big crop of fast bowlers -even our 2nd string attack was too good for Australia. If only Pakistan learnt how to develop good batsman from India

[Ellipsism]

I don’t think the Afghan players would want to. These guys curse us at every opportunity they get.

[Titan24]

Firstly your statement:

If one does not want to live in denial, then one will readily see that Afghanistan has more cricketing talent right now than Pakistan.

I dont want to be in the denial but unfortunately I cant readily see that Afghanistan has more cricketing talent than Pakistan. Kindly share your data, stats and performances to back that. I hope this statement is not based upon couple of their spinners who get to play in overseas leagues because without a doubt they are really good and especially Rashid would make every international team in the world right now in whit ball cricket.

Coming to the next part, thing is other than few Irish players and exceptions, England scout the players when they are young or in that U19 cricket circuit and then offer them contacts and bring them into their system.

The players you have mentioned are representing Afghanistan and thus would have to meet ICC’s criteria for eligibility by not representing Afg for set number of years before they can play for any other country. However, the question is why would they when Afg is now playing bit of test cricket as well and gets regular cricket around unlike the time when England roped in Morgan from Ireland when they didnt get test status.

Further question would be what can Pak offer them as these Afghan players get IPL contracts as well which they wont be getting if they officially get the Pak passport. If some of them are already living in Pak then offering them to live in Pak would not be much of an offer as well so I cant think of much incentives that can be given to rope in the players you have mentioned.

However, yes if there is any young upcoming extraordinary talent in Afghanistan (Which other than a spinner or two isnt very common currently), he can be possibly be given an offer to get Pak nationality, become eligible to start living in Pak, get decent perks and privileges and in future get to represent Pak after performing in domestic circuit.

[Khan12]

I don’t think the Afghan players would want to. These guys curse us at every opportunity they get.

Its the same with us too.

[Mesozoic]

A combined Pak/Afg team can easily win the WT20 in India. Imagine a team with batting lineup of Babar, Hafeez 3.0, Ifti chacha, Nabi, Rizwan and a bowling attack of Rashid, Mujeeb, Shaheen and Tape ball rauf..... stuff of the dreams (and nightmares for all other team fans).

If there is one man who's capable of pulling this off..... then it's the current PM of Pakistan, the modern Ertugrul bey.

@cpt Rishwat will agree with me

[Forward Defensive Push]

What makes us think the likes of Rashid Khan, Nabi, Mujeeb would leave Afghanistan and IPL and play for an average team like ours?

[jiduguravindra]

Mujeeb, nabi, rashid are potential starters in limited overs if they for Pakistan. Definitely two of these three will be in playing xi. Problem is why they forfeit ipl contracts to play for Pakistan

[RyanRyan10]

A combined Pak/Afg team can easily win the WT20 in India. Imagine a team with batting lineup of Babar, Hafeez 3.0, Ifti chacha, Nabi, Rizwan and a bowling attack of Rashid, Mujeeb, Shaheen and Tape ball rauf..... stuff of the dreams (and nightmares for all other team fans).

If there is one man who's capable of pulling this off..... then it's the current PM of Pakistan, the modern Ertugrul bey.

@cpt Rishwat will agree with me

Afghanistan player can't play for Pakistan for 3 years after their last appearance for Afghanistan, according to ICC rules. Nabi will probably retire by then. Rashid and Mujeeb won't wanna miss 3 ICC events in their primes.

[Prince of Pakistan]

Just like Eoin Morgan did with England Rashid could reach greater heights with Pakistan in his career.

But I feel these Afghani T20 stars aren't interested in Pak or would be afraid to be shamed as a traitor to the nation.

The only chance Pak has is to rope in those u-19 Afghan prospects.

[Bewal Express]

No. They are Afghans unless they are born in PK.

[szrana007]

If one does not want to live in denial, then one will readily see that Afghanistan has more cricketing talent right now than Pakistan.

What an outrageous and non sensical statement,lol

[shariqnoor]

I knew people will be extremely triggered by Afghanistan having more talent than Pakistan.

Keep living in denial.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz is shaping up to be a better opening batsman than any Pakistani opening batsman in LOIs in recent years.

While our talents are Khushdil, Abid Ali, Amad Butt, Agha Salman who were hyped to the moon here.

Pakistan is not far away from getting beaten by Afghanistan.

[Rana]

I knew people will be extremely triggered by Afghanistan having more talent than Pakistan.

Keep living in denial.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz is shaping up to be a better opening batsman than any Pakistani opening batsman in LOIs in recent years.

While our talents are Khushdil, Abid Ali, Amad Butt, Agha Salman who were hyped to the moon here.

Pakistan is not far away from getting beaten by Afghanistan.

Lol is your issue with T20 or in cricket overall?

[Hasan123]

Afghanistan have there own team. If they didn't, then this could he an option. We don't need to steal there players. Whilst they have talented players, they still don't have a proper first class structure.

[b.lesner]

Pakistan needs Power hitter tell Nabi to play please

[shariqnoor]

Lol is your issue with T20 or in cricket overall?

Afghanistan are only getting better in LOIs. Their T20 team isn't bad and can surprise even the best.

In a 3 match T20 series right now between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Afghanistan will win 1 game if not the series. In ODIs, they already have pushed Pakistan to the brink, once in the Asia Cup where Malik saved our blushes and once in the World Cup, where Imad saved the day. These one man rescue acts won't happen everytime.

I have seen no evidence to suggest that Pakistan is growing at a better rate than Afghanistan. Seeing guys like Amad Butt, Khushdil does not fill me with any hope.

[Artaxerxes]

They should be allowed.

If England can have players who were born in WI and South Africa, why can Pakistan not be allowed Afghans?

England has a qualification system based on residence or family roots.If one's parents or grand parents are English then they can play for England.Others who have settled in England can also play after they qualify as residents.Pakistan does not have such system.

[Mesozoic]

Afghanistan have there own team.

So does South Africa.

And New Zealand.

And West Indies.

And Ireland.

Wait there's no Morgan emoji on pp ?

[NishanKonar]

On a different note - South African , West Indian players join England more due to financial reason. KP earned much more playing for England than he wud have for RSA + avoided quota issues

Wonder why Afghan players wud play for Pakistan & ruin their IPL prospects where they get fat pay checks. No way Rashid or Mujeeb wud sacrifice their IPL contracts to play for Pakistan ( apart from political considerations )

[amit]

So does South Africa.

And New Zealand.

And West Indies.

And Ireland.

Wait there's no Morgan emoji on pp ?

To play for teams, there is a eligibility criteria. No one can play for anyone like that

There is a 3 year cooling off period between representing different teams if a player is shifting from a full member team to another team. If it's from Associate and player is eligible for a full member like Ed Joyce, Eoin Morgan, Gavin Hamilton, Boyd Rankin and Mark Chapman did, it can be done instantly and the cooling off period when returning back is 1 year

To shift from a full member to another team, whether full member or associate, is 3 years and the player should spend 180 days/year for 3 years in the adopted country or take citizenship of adopted country to bypass the 180 days/year rule

Here both Afghanistan and Pakistan are full members, so any Afghanistan player will have to wait 3 years from their last appearance to play for Pakistan if they are currently living in Pakistan

However many UAE/Oman players have Pakistani passports and they can play for Pakistan instantly as UAE is Associate nation

[Flat_Track_Bully]

If you can't win a test match, just a test match in SENA then you can't really call yourself a cricket team lets be real here.

[Tubs]

It would probably be correct for them to have been citizens/residents of Pakistan for an x amount of time before joining the team. I have no issue with it, personally.

Though I must agree that Afghanistan has more talent than Pakistan at the moment. Especially when it comes to all rounders- all of those spinners can bat pretty darn well!

[Titan24]

I knew people will be extremely triggered by Afghanistan having more talent than Pakistan.

Keep living in denial.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz is shaping up to be a better opening batsman than any Pakistani opening batsman in LOIs in recent years.

While our talents are Khushdil, Abid Ali, Amad Butt, Agha Salman who were hyped to the moon here.

Pakistan is not far away from getting beaten by Afghanistan.

I have observed the best way to wake people from the supposed sleep of denial is to put forward concrete facts which unfortunately you are yet to provide.

Pak is yet to loose to Afghanistan but loosing a match or to will prove anything? India drawn a match against Afghanistan so now both sides are equal in stature?

When Afghanistan starts beating top teams and start producing players who have performances against the top countries than you wont have to use statements like keep living in denial as that would be something concrete for everyone to see. Yes you can still prove your points but not with random names and statements rather with facts.

Gubraiz is shaping up? Sorry which innings of his against any decent opposition in international cricket I have missed? He must be really good but, what exactly is the criteria he is being judged upon to make such claims?

[hitthestump]

Bigger question should be why few million Afghans in refugee camps are producing such amazing talents with their rag tag system - that's something Pakistan should study & emulate. Only then Pakistan can unearth more talents given their 20 crore population compared to few million Afghans growing up in refugee camps

It's only in the spin department and hacking where the Afghans are doing very well. Pakistan isn't exactly struggling for good spinners right now either.

Pakistan also have plenty of hacks, though i admit the Afghans are hitting it better right now.

[observer1]

I knew people will be extremely triggered by Afghanistan having more talent than Pakistan.

Keep living in denial.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz is shaping up to be a better opening batsman than any Pakistani opening batsman in LOIs in recent years.

While our talents are Khushdil, Abid Ali, Amad Butt, Agha Salman who were hyped to the moon here.

Pakistan is not far away from getting beaten by Afghanistan.

Pretty much a nothing statement then.

If Afghanistan don't get anywhere, then nothing happens. If they win few games it's confirmation bias.

Afghanistan were embarrassing in the World Cup.

[Barragan]

If they've grown up and played in Pak, then why not?

Just give them the option and let them decide.

[Zaz]

Only rashid would get in the pakistan team so the OP is overestimating the afghan players talent

[Artaxerxes]

This is a ridiculous post.Afghanistan is not a top team.Yes it has a few good spinners but it is not a world class team.Pakistan needs to sort out its grass roots level cricket.In England all top schools esp private schools have excellent grounds and coaches.The best cricketers from schools and universities then get into county teams.Besides schools there are hundreds of leagues.Even villages and small towns have cricket teams which play in leagues.Pakistan has a big and diverse population so there is no reason it can't find new talent.

[Giannis]

I think instead of this Pakistan should copy how America recruits Cubans baseball players to defect and play in the MLB and apply to Kashmir. Get talented first class players from Indian occupied Kashmir and offer them and their families asylum in Pakistan and a central contract with a national team as well domestic side.

[redmaverik84]

You can't compare England poaching Ireland with this. For starters, England used to dangle the test cricket carrot to lure good Irish players and others from SA/NZ were those who played a lot of cricket in the English system with some.ancestory to make them feel English enough to play for the country.

Now that Afg has test status, there is little that Pakistan can offer them to change Nationality. Moreover the distrust between Afg and Pak over terrorism/counter terrorism etc has created a lot of bad blood diplomatically.

And unlike in the fluidic White man's world, we South Asians are fiercely proud of our nationality and will not switch without facing ostracization and ridicule from the parent country.

The IPL lure is another matter, apart from the elite in Afg nobody else gets to play and even then to to get a huge contract you gotta be the best (Rashid). So I don't think that's a game changer.

Finally, ,conditions in Afg are getting better and unlike the current generation , most of whom were born in camps in Pakistan, the U-19 are Afghan born and bred. So much so that Mujeeb doesn't even speak Urdu. So there goes Pakistan's last chance at grabbing Afghan kids.

[Giannis]

You can't compare England poaching Ireland with this. For starters, England used to dangle the test cricket carrot to lure good Irish players and others from SA/NZ were those who played a lot of cricket in the English system with some.ancestory to make them feel English enough to play for the country.

Now that Afg has test status, there is little that Pakistan can offer them to change Nationality. Moreover the distrust between Afg and Pak over terrorism/counter terrorism etc has created a lot of bad blood diplomatically.

And unlike in the fluidic White man's world, we South Asians are fiercely proud of our nationality and will not switch without facing ostracization and ridicule from the parent country.

The IPL lure is another matter, apart from the elite in Afg nobody else gets to play and even then to to get a huge contract you gotta be the best (Rashid). So I don't think that's a game changer.

Finally, ,conditions in Afg are getting better and unlike the current generation , most of whom were born in camps in Pakistan, the U-19 are Afghan born and bred. So much so that Mujeeb doesn't even speak Urdu. So there goes Pakistan's last chance at grabbing Afghan kids.

Yeah that's why I think poaching talent from IoK is a better option; they speak the language and a lot of them are Pro-Pakistan and don't got their own national team so it's a win-win for us plus they would have some experience playing in the indian domestic circuit so could help our batting and might even end the world cup curse against india

[redmaverik84]

Yeah that's why I think poaching talent from IoK is a better option; they speak the language and a lot of them are Pro-Pakistan and don't got their own national team so it's a win-win for us plus they would have some experience playing in the indian domestic circuit so could help our batting and might even end the world cup curse against india

LOL at your wishful thinking.

Firstly a Kashmiri cricketer would look across the border at Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and see how many play cricket or are encouraged to. That would give them a fair indicator of what they are gonna face. How many have played for Pakistan? Hell, how many play FC cricket for team Northern in Pakistan FC cricket?. And moreover after the revamp, Pakistan has 5 or 6 domestic teams, Indians have 30+. So where do they have a better chance of playing professionally? I would think India pays its domestic cricketers better than Pakistan does. So why would he not want to earn better?
Parvez Rasool has played for India, there are a couple of young ones that will make it in a few years time, so it all looks promising for a Kashmiri cricketer playing in India.
And considering Pakistan's 'interests' in Kashmir, you think they wouldn't have thought of pursuing this? This has a lot of diplomatic challenges too and India wouldn't sit quiet of course. So yeah all in all wishful thinking.

[RajBan]

The idea is actually not bad. If one don't judge this approach through the prism of right or wrong and think about it strategically it definitely has merit if executed properly. You need to get the talents early , it will increase your talent pool for selection, provide them right incentives like citizenship and long term contracts.

Clubs in Europe do it all the time with third world countries and recruits teenage talents from Latin America and Africa between 15-18, facilitates their work permits and citizenship subsequently and then National football federation if impressed tries to influence them for their national team.

[gani999]

I’m sure India studied this for decades considering they could only produce 130kmh bowlers until Bumrah popped up. How could a country with a population that is 1/5th of the Indian population keep producing 140+ bowlers?

Because pace bowling wasn't really a big thing among Indian youngsters for a long time. Most wanted to become batsmen and the pitches offered help only to spinners.

Things changed in the 1990s after the MRF pace foundation came into being and the BCCI seriously started looking at developing fast bowling in India. Since there the likes of Zaheer Khan, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Mohd Shami, Umesh Yadav and Bumrah have come into being.

Pakistan's problems have been different. They have been in decline in all departments, including in pace bowling which used to be their strongest point.

[BunnyRabbit]

Nope

Need to improve our domestic structure so we can produce better cricketers.

[NishanKonar]

I think instead of this Pakistan should copy how America recruits Cubans baseball players to defect and play in the MLB and apply to Kashmir. Get talented first class players from Indian occupied Kashmir and offer them and their families asylum in Pakistan and a central contract with a national team as well domestic side.

Those Kashmiris wud rather play in IPL for big bucks like Pervez & Abdul Samad

[shariqnoor]

Also I'm not advocating making current Afghan cricketers who are playing for Afghanistan play for Pakistan. That is obviously ridiculous and not happening. Also, not every Afghanistan cricketer is better than the Pakistani cricketer, but the trend is that they are producing some very good players.

Afghanistan has been producing some good talent over the past few years that could've been poached. Yes the situation in Afghanistan is improving but permanent residency in Pakistan may still appeal to a lot of these young Afghanis. Many of them already hold Pakistani NICs. So if there were some good cricketers emerging from that talent pool, there is nothing wrong in having them included in the Pakistan structure and allowing them to play for Pakistan.

[Colorblind Genius]

Shame on us if our domestic cricket standard and quality has stooped down to this point that we look towards Afghanistan to get quality players.

Better man up and fix our issues at home rather than showing up at Afghanistan’s door with a begging bowl.

[liam26]

No for two reasons..first it would look like a failure on part of Pakistan with population over 200 million if they have to pinch players from underdeveloped Afghanistan.

Second it would hamper the growth of Cricket in Afghanistan if their World Class players ditch the National side and represent Pakistan. We want more quality International sides in Cricket and can't afford a few countries stealing players from developing countries.

[Gharib Aadmi]

No for two reasons..first it would look like a failure on part of Pakistan with population over 200 million if they have to pinch players from underdeveloped Afghanistan.

Second it would hamper the growth of Cricket in Afghanistan if their World Class players ditch the National side and represent Pakistan. We want more quality International sides in Cricket and can't afford a few countries stealing players from developing countries.

We could care less if it hurts Afghanistan.

[Gharib Aadmi]

If they are born in Pakistan, then they have a right to play for the country. Legally all Afghan refugees who were in born in Pakistan are entitled to citizenship.

[Colorblind Genius]

If they are born in Pakistan, then they have a right to play for the country. Legally all Afghan refugees who were in born in Pakistan are entitled to citizenship.

I think being born in Pakistan does not automatically give you the right or entitlement to Pakistan citizenship.
However, as we all know, you can spend a few thousand or a couple of laakh Rs and acquire Pakistani passport (after all that NADAR electronic check n balances).

Saleh Mohammad, is one example.
He is an Afghani born in Afghanistan. Acquired Pakistani citizenship from whatever means and represented Pakistan in Int'l snooker tournaments.

Fawad Ahmad is another example.
He is an Afghani born in Pakistan who somehow acquired Pakistani citizenship and visited Australia on short visa where raised his hands and applied for asylum, which paved his way to Australian citizenship.

[Gharib Aadmi]

I think being born in Pakistan does not automatically give you the right or entitlement to Pakistan citizenship.
However, as we all know, you can spend a few thousand or a couple of laakh Rs and acquire Pakistani passport (after all that NADAR electronic check n balances).

Saleh Mohammad, is one example.
He is an Afghani born in Afghanistan. Acquired Pakistani citizenship from whatever means and represented Pakistan in Int'l snooker tournaments.

Fawad Ahmad is another example.
He is an Afghani born in Pakistan who somehow acquired Pakistani citizenship and visited Australia on short visa where raised his hands and applied for asylum, which paved his way to Australian citizenship.

This is from the Ministry of Interior

Persons who or any of their parents or grand parents were born in the territories now included in Pakistan before the commencement of citizenship Act, 1951 are citizens of Pakistan.
Any person born in Pakistan after the commencement of Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951 is citizen of Pakistan. Children of foreign diplomats and children of enemy alien born in Pakistan are not included in this category. Persons, who migrated from territories of Pakistan to other areas of Indo-Pakistan sub-continent for permanent stay after March, 1947 shall also be not considered citizens of Pakistan.


http://www.dgip.gov.pk/files/immigration.aspx

[Colorblind Genius]

This is from the Ministry of Interior

Persons who or any of their parents or grand parents were born in the territories now included in Pakistan before the commencement of citizenship Act, 1951 are citizens of Pakistan.
Any person born in Pakistan after the commencement of Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951 is citizen of Pakistan. Children of foreign diplomats and children of enemy alien born in Pakistan are not included in this category. Persons, who migrated from territories of Pakistan to other areas of Indo-Pakistan sub-continent for permanent stay after March, 1947 shall also be not considered citizens of Pakistan.


http://www.dgip.gov.pk/files/immigration.aspx

I am not sure how is this implemented. If this was the case 100 and thousands of Afghanis born in Pakistan would've gotten Pak citizenship. And being from Peshawar, I can assure you, that's not the case.

[Gharib Aadmi]

I am not sure how is this implemented. If this was the case 100 and thousands of Afghanis born in Pakistan would've gotten Pak citizenship. And being from Peshawar, I can assure you, that's not the case.

Its not implemented, and it will be millions now. The Same way children per the law are supposed to receive an education, you are supposed to have the right to freely practice your religion, not be kidnapped by agencies, this is also not being implemented.

Imran Khan wanted to do so but other political parties made noise, and he took a uturn.


Ultimately we need the Supreme Court to do something, as no politicians will do anything.

[MenInG]

Guys keep discussion related to cricket.

[Kroll]

I agree with the OP. Perhaps Pakistan has missed a trick by not vouching for it earlier as Afghan is now a Test playing nation. But yes, Afghan should be eligible to play for Pakistan.

PS: Should be extended to IO Kashmir although I know India would stop it.

[TNAmarkFromIndia]

Play for Pakistan, get PSL money.
Play for Afghanistan, get PSL + IPL money.

[RyanRyan10]

Also I'm not advocating making current Afghan cricketers who are playing for Afghanistan play for Pakistan. That is obviously ridiculous and not happening. Also, not every Afghanistan cricketer is better than the Pakistani cricketer, but the trend is that they are producing some very good players.

Afghanistan has been producing some good talent over the past few years that could've been poached. Yes the situation in Afghanistan is improving but permanent residency in Pakistan may still appeal to a lot of these young Afghanis. Many of them already hold Pakistani NICs. So if there were some good cricketers emerging from that talent pool, there is nothing wrong in having them included in the Pakistan structure and allowing them to play for Pakistan.

But why would they want to play for Pakistan?

If Afghanistan is producing better talent then they should overtake Pakistan in coming years. So a young Afghanistan would love to improve the status of his team. He will be likely to make more money via IPL.

[Raja Ishtiaq]

Good thread.

I would go a little further. Why just limit this to Afghan players?

Look at Alex Hales. He has been discarded by England for non- cricketing reasons but would walk into our side. Probably in tests too.

Why dont we try to sign him? There must be some way

[ethan hunt]

There is so much wrong with this thread that I don't know where to start.

[RyanRyan10]

Afghanistan lost a test to Zimbabwe by 10 wickets.

[LeedsGreen]

we have heard and seen this idea of a neighbour overtaking pakistan with bangladesh in 2015- as seen by the zimbabwe test and the cwc 19 whilst afghanistan has a very talented crop of players ( Who should remain and play for their own country) as i would hope pak players stay and play for their own country, they remain a million miles off the established test playing nations

dont pay much heed in the selection of the likes of khushdil, its an aberration and there is plenty of talent out there, the system will hopefully make such players more identifiable as seen by the recent inclusions of new names (ghulam,Saud, even nomi) in the test squad

[Heisenberg111]

This will be a controversial opinion and subject as well but I believe Pakistan can actually go and emulate England in one form and that is to import players for the national team.

If one does not want to live in denial, then one will readily see that Afghanistan has more cricketing talent right now than Pakistan.

And if we really dig deep, most of them have Pakistani NICs or have been born in Pakistan. I believe Mohammad Shahzad even lives in Pakistan currently.

So why can't Pakistan do an England and offer these Afghanis a shot at being able to represent Pakistan when they hold Pakistani NICs anyways. Give them a passport if they've lived more than 4 years in Pakistan.

Mohammad Nabi could've and should've been playing for Pakistan instead of Afghanistan. Look at Rashid Khan's talent. Mujeeb ur Rehman. These guys are exceptional.

Looking at the players Pakistan is producing, some of these Afghanistan players would walk into our team. These guys even hold Pakistan documents so why can't we let them play for Pakistan.

England have long benefited from having South African and NZ players playing for them. We cab also try and poach talent from Afghanistan. Will only help our national team.

Controversial subject but not outrageous.

Wait, What ? Just when I thought, I had seen it all, lol