Mohammad Yousuf on Pakistan Cricket's Downfall Post-Dubai 2021 Win

The night Pakistan finally broke the World Cup curse against India was supposed to be a launchpad. Mohammad Yousuf believes it became the beginning of the fall.

In Dubai in 2021, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan walked off unbeaten, arms aloft, having strolled to a 10-wicket win over India in the T20 World Cup. Pakistan had chased 152 without losing a wicket. Babar finished on 68 not out, Rizwan on 79 not out. It was clinical, ruthless, historic. For the first time, Pakistan had beaten India in a World Cup.

For many, it was catharsis. For Yousuf, with the benefit of hindsight, it was the trigger.

“That match which we won against India in 2021, that damaged us a lot,” the former batting great said on Samaa TV. “Because after that victory, players started to think that they had achieved something big. They couldn’t understand what they had to do next.”

The result, in his eyes, was a subtle but corrosive shift.

“When you are performing well, you should stay humble,” he said. “If you behave with your collar raised, and get disrespectful, problems will arrive. And a lot of them have arrived in Pakistan cricket.”

For Yousuf, the issue is not just about scorecards or tables. It is about attitude. He feels that famous night in Dubai altered the dressing-room mindset in a way Pakistan have never really corrected.

From landmark win to leadership scramble

Yousuf’s criticism cuts deeper than tactical errors or selection calls. He accuses players of becoming consumed by power rather than performance.

“Everyone in the team was trying to become the captain of the Pakistan team,” he said. In his view, the armband became an obsession, not a responsibility.

The fallout, he argues, is written across Pakistan’s recent history: “Look at all the cricket Pakistan has played in the last four-five years, from ODI World Cups, T20 World Cups to Asia Cups and Champions Trophy. There has been terrible cricket.”

He points to a revolving door around the team. “The PCB has been supporting you throughout. So many coaches have come and gone, so many things have changed just to try and help the Pakistan team. But no player has stood up and taken responsibility. Eventually, PCB had to take a step that it did. I back what PCB did.”

In Yousuf’s telling, the rot is internal. The board, he suggests, has tried almost everything. The players, in his view, have not.

England tour chaos and a brutal reset

Yousuf’s words land at a time when Pakistan cricket is again in turmoil, this time very publicly.

On the current tour of England, Pakistan have been outplayed and outclassed. They lost the Headingley Test by an innings and 103 runs. At Lord’s, the margin was 194 runs. Heavy defeats, back-to-back, in a format where Pakistan once prided themselves on resilience.

The Pakistan Cricket Board responded with a sledgehammer. With one Test still to play in the series, seven players — Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Aamir Jamal and Muhammad Awais Jafar — were sent home. Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant coach Umar Gul were removed. Seven replacements were called up, five of them uncapped.

The timing stunned many. A mid-series purge at Test level is rare, and it drew instant scrutiny across the cricket world.

Yousuf, though, sees no problem with the board’s timing or intent.

“Yes, there is no issue with when PCB have taken action,” he said. “The Pakistan team is ninth in the World Test Championship standings. They are ninth because there are only nine teams in the table. Pakistan ka naam kharab ho raha hai (Pakistan’s reputation is getting ruined). So when that’s happening, the board has to take some steps to improve.”

He even hinted that the decision to send seven players home may have been sparked by something unseen.

Yousuf suggested there could have been an incident or deeper unrest inside the dressing room that has not yet come to light, though he did not provide details. For him, the key point is that the PCB finally acted.

Not just England, not just one bad month

Yousuf refuses to treat the England tour as an isolated disaster. To him, it is just the latest chapter in a longer decline.

“I don’t see an issue with the PCB reaction. Because the team has been playing terrible cricket. It’s not just this one series against England,” he said.

He acknowledges that Pakistan reached the T20 World Cup final in 2022 and an Asia Cup final, but he uses those peaks to underline how steep the drop has been since.

“We played in the T20 World Cup final in 2022 and played in an Asia Cup final as well, but since those finals, just look at the performances coming out of this Pakistan team,” he said.

The numbers back up the concern. Pakistan have struggled across formats. They were swept 2-0 by Bangladesh earlier this year, their second 0-2 defeat to the same opposition after the 2024 home series. For a side that once bullied smaller teams, back-to-back clean sweeps to Bangladesh are a stark marker.

Questions swirl around leadership, selection, planning, and the very direction of the national side. Coaches change. Captains change. The results, largely, do not.

Yousuf keeps circling back to that one turning point: Dubai 2021. For him, it is not a romantic memory but a warning sign ignored. A night that lifted a curse against India but, in his view, planted a different kind of complacency.

Pakistan finally won the World Cup battle they had chased for decades. The bigger fight, to restore discipline, humility and responsibility, still waits to be won.