Well, unlike 2003 axing over half the squad is unlikely and on balance, unnecessary. A changing of the guard felt natural then, in a team still carrying Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Saeed Anwar, all of whom had seen better decades.

This Pakistan side, in contrast, is still young; officially (birth records being the imposters that they are here) only three of Pakistan's 15 in the Caribbean are over 30. Outside, Mohammad Asif and Abdul Razzaq also remain twenty-somethings.

The captaincy need not be such a thorny decision either. As leader, the succession plan points to Younis Khan to assume a position he, and everyone else, has been expecting for some time. That is something not oft-said in Pakistan.

Yet, there exists hesitancy within the PCB, also evidenced by the chairman's willingness to defer an appointment for at least a month (though he remains, personally, in favour). Younis appears a widely-backed choice and the logical one too, his Champions Trophy tantrum notwithstanding. Given how rare consensus is locally, should it not be seized upon immediately?

As leader, the succession plan points to Younis Khan to assume a position he, and everyone else, has been expecting for some time

Replacing Inzamam's middle-order presence will take some doing. Pakistan dithered between grooming a middle-order bat and playing an all-rounder in recent times. The uncertainty was without beneficiaries; Asim Kamal was lost, Faisal Iqbal persevered with without feeling, Yasir Hameed sidelined and neither Shahid Afridi nor Razzaq provided any lasting security. Who is to come through? No obvious batting prodigy lies undiscovered.

Domestic cricket is not shielding any exceptional openers either, though if the new selection committee perseveres with one pair for longer than the last one did with any, they might reap some reward. The bowling, when healthy, is in ruder health but there should be concern at the National Cricket Academy that only one player from two successive U-19 World Cup winning sides has managed to play for Pakistan. And Riaz Afridi only played one Test over two years ago.

Within the grand red bricks and plush offices of Gaddafi Stadium, more needs doing. Nasim Ashraf stays on, to the chagrin of many, but also with the defense plea that he had been handed charge of a sinking ship only six months before the World Cup; he maintained throughout that his work was to begin after and now is his chance. People can shout till they're blue that he shouldn't be there at all, but he is now and that can only be changed by the President. With him comes a new management team altogether.

It is unlikely to be so, but the first task should be to find and implement the constitution. It is now, apparently, in "legal vetting" with the Attorney General but whatever the phrase, there is little question that it is something that has been deliberately and persistently sidelined administration after administration. No more. Pakistan has been ad-hoc from 1999, since when un-coincidentally, cricket has been at its maddest.

Nasim Ashraf continues as PCB chairman despite offering his resignation © AFP

A new selection committee has to be established and, refreshingly, it will be Pakistan's first-ever professional one, with full-time salaried-selectors, answerable for their work. They might also consider enhancing their influence, especially over the captain; Wasim Bari's men, for much of the end of their tenures, were largely men for rubberstamping and Inzamam merely another in a long, undistinguished line of captains who have merrily overruled and ignored selectors.

The new coach will likely speak the same language as the players, though the criteria should be skills rather than language. Ramiz Raja, who was instrumental in bringing Bob Woolmer to Pakistan, said recently that Pakistan may be able to operate without a coach by giving the captain more power. Given Pakistan's familiarity with dictatorial captains and their failings, the idea is a risky one. Aaqib Javed has been spoken of, and he has valuable junior experience, but he is newly-responsible at the NCA and with Mudassar Nazar, his brief to discover and develop young talent may suit him better.

Even by the exceptionally broad parameters of sanity within which Pakistan cricket operates, these last eight months have been something else; not just traumatic and volatile but ultimately, macabre and disturbing. But it is darkest before dawn, humans love repeating. Pakistan cricket has seen numerous new dawns, but it has not seen this much darkness. The hope, as it now must be, is that it will give way to a dawn that has never before been seen either.

Yes, they can be a force in world cricket providing politic is kept out of pakistan cricket as they have no clue to run in pakistan. Give the job of captain to Mohammed Yousuf rather than Younis Khan as he was a major flop in champion cup in 2006. Bring wasim akram as bowling coach & Javed miandad as coach. Make sure Danish is given a good run in one day cricket

I agree with Osman that things are not as bad as we had it after the last world cup. There is no doubt that Pakistan team is not in the top tier but at the same time, they still have lots of talent. The main thing that they lack is consistency other than physical fitness. On any given day, they have the talent to beat any team. Six months ago, Pakistan was ranked fairly high and they had beaten India, Srilanka, England and West Indies in the one -day. Things usually don't change that fast. I think they are the same team. They had a bad day, but even if they had qualified to the super 8, it would have been difficult to made it to semi-final. They need a good process and system which is consistent and develop good talent from the domestic cricket. That is the only solution and will pay up in the long run.

Yes Pakistan will bounce back, All Pakistani's are with them we are supporting them they will bounce back we've had talent just need to utilize it properly.

It's very good that you point out the fact that pakistan have twice won the under 19's world cup and yet these youngsters are no where to be heard of. In fact the victories show that this is a country which has plenty of talent. However, going back to the current team situation. Unfortunately, there is no one in the current pakistan team that looks like they can fulfill the role of captain properly. I hope I get proven wrong, but I just cannot see leadership qualities in any of the Pakistan players. Personally, I believe it should ideally be an allrounder, but in Pakistan's case they have 3 match winning good all rounders, but consistency may not be apparent in them.. Shahid Afridi , Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq.
Inzamam will be as a batsman hard to replace. I really hope we can get our acts together, bring in some new talent and put togther a winning combination of players, as right now the Pakistan Cricket Team is facing a hard struggle to reach the top.

Yes...Pakistan team can recover from the miserable condition in which they are at the moment...its all about the will power and talent...talent is always there in the team the only thing they are lacking behind is will power but i am sure that person like Nasim Ashraf can help them to regain it back...my well wishes are with him and the team...

I think inzamam should play one-days also.its not that you lost a one-day that you are a bad batsman.For me inzy is the best as captain.he should stay so team can recover.

Brilliant Article. Definitely the darkest time in Pak cricket. Being a die hard fan of my boyz, i am hopeing, praying and looking forward to the most beautiful and brightest of dawn. Atleast the 160 mil deserve it. We have never, nor ever will loose hope as it is the basis of our existence. afterall, there will always be a tommorrow and the people of pak are wayy too proud of this land, regardless of the leaders.

Danish/Karachi-Pakistan

Yes, Pakistan will rise to a dawn not seen before. Our team has always been getting 110 Volt shocks, or the rare 220 Volt shocks, but this time they got a 440 V shock and hopefully this will knock some sense in them.

Oh by the way, I was looking at Yasir Hameed's average of 39 something yesterday and I was flabbergasted at why such a player was not given a chance when he has almost always played well when given a chance? Similarly we have guys like Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar, but no one seems to have the confidence in guys who have performed so well?

Pakistani cricket will always remain wasteful; the only solution is for us to adopt a professional domestic setup, based on merit, as there is in Australia

Of course..winning and losing are a part of life and everything has its valleys and peaks...true, Pakistan is going through a difficult time right now, but with some grit and nerve and good old common sense, they should be able to bounce back. It's as simple as that.

i think pakistan will be able to recover very soon. Pakistan cricket history suggest that they need a strong captain to guide a team of under performing talented individuals. right now they have Younis Khan as a captain to lead an under-performing talented unit.

of course without doubt last eight months has been worst ever in the history of pakistan cricket but there is still a hope.A hope that pakistan cricket will rise again.THe decsions made by Pcb,s chairman are realy good but the next step is to get things implemented otherwise pakistan cricket will continue failing!

I think the new dawn will appear with alot of hope and promise, Pakistan has alot of tallent, what they need is an exciting well organised and an excellent leader, both in the form of coach and captain, all players immensly talent or new arrivals must play for the country than themselves, they must play as a team and share responsibilities equally, they mind set must be changed, like Glen McGrath who said the other day that i would prefer to be a part of the best team in the world rather than being the best in the world.
we can be good and will be good inshallah.

I have no doubt that Pakistan will bounce back. The past few months have been tough and traumatic, but they can use this situation and the time they have before the 20-20 cup to re-assess their situation, their players, their administration, and really delve into the root of their longstanding problems. There is more than enough talent, but the talent needs to be nurtured. The long term prospects for the team have to be considered; up and coming talents need to be groomed, and even the best of players should have to fight for their place in the squad. In my opinion, it is now more a mental battle for Pakistan; not just the team, but the entire cricket board, and it would help if the nation supported their fallen heros.

Pakistan will defnitely bounce!! They have got talented guys and good leaders within the team. If guys like Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq,Imran Nazir, Asif, Yousuf and Younis are utilized well then I have no doubt that they will challenge the Aussies and SA for the no.1 spot.

Loss of Woolmer is quite huge, and now losing the Captain like Inzimam will not be very good for Pakistan Cricket, I think Inzi should continue for atleast 2 years to get team on Track.

Couldn't agree with you more Osman. This is the darkest hour of Pakistan cricket. However, is there brighter dawn awaiting us will have to be seen with time. The averge age of the team should have dropped with the exit of Inzi. The administrators should sieze this opportunity to regain control of the team and make it clear to the new captain that there should be no party-ism in the institution of PCB. I personally think that we should go the way South Africa went by overlooking the obvious choice and going for a young captain that can work closely with the board and develop a unified team.
In the case of South Africa Smith was chosen over seasoned stalwarts such as Pollock, Boucher, Kallis, Gibbs. However in our case can we expect Yunis Khan, Mohd. Yusuf, Abdul Razzaq to continue to serve Paksitan with the dedication of the South Africans if say Kamran Akmal or Shoaib Malik are made captain? questionable...

If you picked a expensive bowler (Naveed) and then have a courage to include in your first match as attack bowler. what you expect from this team. By the way no body asked this question yet?

I think the management failed miserably in planning. And what's the use of this management if they can't manage this young team. It's really sad that we so often hear things about the conflicts between our team management, captain, coach and media - the kind of stuff we hardly hear from other test playing nations. We didn't have a vision, no planning and no accountability and it's a shame that we have lost a great player like Inzi so easily. I pray to the Almighty to give us the right direction.

Pakistan one day team performance would have been better if Inzaman would have retired from one day cricket earlier than world cup.