Former Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar has criticized the PCB and team leadership for their defensive thinking in the recent defeat of the Australian Test series. Akhtar slams Pakistan Team led by Babar Azam before praising the Australian for his courage and skill in writing the historic victory.
Notably, Pakistan suffered a 1-0 loss in the series after being dismissed for 235 in its second inning of the third and final test in Lahore and lost the match by 115 runs. The first two test of three-match series were ended with a draw.
“Absolutely disappointing series, this. Absolute nonsense. The mindset of both the Pakistan Cricket Board and probably the team management was to draw this series. Neither should they win, nor us; just end this series in a draw,” said Akhtar on his YouTube channel.
“But hats off to Australians. I’m genuinely happy for them. This is not their home, none of these players played in Pakistan before; they came here and play brave cricket. The bowlers didn’t know when the ball reverses in such conditions, but Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins put in the hard hours to learn the skills of the trade here. Nathan Lyon, who hasn’t toured Pakistan yet, took a five-wicket haul,” he added.
Flat pitches are the biggest cause for concern in the series, and Akhtar also pointed out that such pitches are created so that matches can lead to a draw and only harm the hosts. .
“See, when you are lacking courage and only trying to escape, the results are like this. They came here after 24 years, and they expected you to prepare good wickets. But you didn’t do that. You tried to wear them down. The opposite has happened. It’s the wrong approach, the wrong mindset. We should bring in people who are not mediocre and take the right decisions. Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen in Pakistan,” Akhtar added further.
