Ex-Pakistan Captain Misbah Claims 2021 World Cup Victory Over India Created False Security
Misbah claims beating India ruined Pakistan.
Former Pakistan cricket team captain Mohammad Yousuf has offered a striking explanation for the national side's prolonged decline, arguing that one of the team's most celebrated victories — rather than a defeat — set the crisis in motion. Yousuf said Pakistan's historic 10-wicket win over India at the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai ultimately damaged the team by fostering overconfidence and triggering internal competition for the captaincy. "That match which we won against India in 2021, that damaged us a lot. Because after that victory, players started to think that they had achieved something big," Yousuf said, according to multiple reports.
The October 24, 2021 match remains a landmark in Pakistan cricket history: it was the country's first-ever World Cup win over India in any format, achieved without losing a wicket as Babar Azam scored an unbeaten 68 and Mohammad Rizwan made 79 not out in a successful chase of 152. The result was widely celebrated at the time as a turning point for Pakistani cricket. According to Yousuf, however, the aftermath of that win exposed deeper problems within the team's culture.
He pointed specifically to a growing rivalry among players vying to become captain, which he said disrupted the dressing room and had lasting consequences. "Everyone in the team was trying to become the captain of the Pakistan team. The consequences are still hurting Pakistan cricket," Yousuf said, adding that the fallout has been visible across multiple tournaments in the years since, including recent ODI World Cups, T20 World Cups, Asia Cups and Champions Trophy campaigns.
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Yousuf was careful to note that Pakistan's struggles cannot be attributed to any single series, pointing out that the team reached the T20 World Cup final in 2022 and an Asia Cup final in subsequent years before its performances deteriorated. He cited Pakistan's recent troubles across formats, including being swept 2-0 by Bangladesh earlier this year — the team's second such series defeat to the same opposition since a 2024 home series loss — as further evidence of the decline he traced back to 2021.
Yousuf's comments came as Pakistan endured a difficult Test series against England, a slump that prompted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to take disciplinary action, including sending several players home mid-tour and removing head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant coach Umar Gul from their positions. Yousuf expressed support for the board's response. "I don't see an issue with the PCB reaction, because the team has been playing terrible cricket," he said, adding that despite years of coaching changes and institutional support, "no player has stood up and taken responsibility" for the team's underperformance.
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