Former cricketers slam Pakistan's horrendous display against India
Pakistan's 124-run loss to India did not go down well with their former cricketers who criticised the difference in the quality between the two sides. Chasing a colossal total of 320 to win, Pakistan were bowled out for a meagre score of 164, handing India a massive win the Champions Trophy game.
Pakistan was sloppy in the field and was slammed for their poor ground work even during the match and the same trend continued after the match when former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif mocked their fielding standards. "Even if Pakistan had fielded its full 15 players I don't think the result would have been different. Such is the difference between the two sides now.", Latif told PTI.
Recently retired, Shahid Afridi expressed concerns over the increasing gap in the quality of the game between the two nations, saying, "While India has progressed a lot we are falling behind them." Another former Pakistani skipper Aamir Sohail suggested that the Pakistan side does not have what it takes to beat India contrary to what the media presents.
Former Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar also bashed the team for their lack of intent in the game.
"Who in their right mind would open the bowling in such English conditions with a spinner who can't turn the ball. The only way to beat India was to bowl them out for a manageable total by taking wickets. Yet, instead of attacking them with the new ball, we choose to contain them. This was poor captaincy and poor decision making by the team
Moreover, Akhtar criticised Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur for not being able to spot the difference between Hassan Ali and Junaid Khan and picking up Wahab Riaz instead of Junaid. "It is astonishing that the coach does not see any difference between Junaid and Hassan. How can you compare them - one is a natural left-arm swing bowler and the other is a right-arm pacer.", he stated.
Mohammad Yousuf, another former Pakistani captain said that people should learn to accept reality and start believing in facts.
"They are a top side which is why they are number three in ODI rankings and we are languishing at number eight because of our poor performances.", said the former Pakistani batsman. Yousuf further added that the Edgbaston pitch was favourable for the batsmen but the Pakistani batting lineup failed to utilise it to their advantage and also called for Mickey Arthur to be relieved of his duties as the head coach, following the result.
"What happened is shameful. It is humiliating for us because we have played and beaten India many times. We used to dominate them.", he added.
Mohsin Khan, the former Pakistani Test opener and coach stated that the side needed to improve the quality of their game and will face similar consequences in their following games against South Africa and Sri Lanka if they fail to do so. "The coach has been a big disappointment as the team appeared to be without a plan while I am disappointed with the captaincy of Sarfaraz Ahmed who appeared lost in the match.", he said.
Meanwhile, former Pakistani paceman and captain Wasim Akram suggested that the Indian cricket team was leaps and bounds ahead of their Pakistani counterparts courtesy the IPL and major investments in the game. "The bitter truth is we are lagging behind them in many ways and we are not producing fearless players. Before every Pak-India match there is a 50-50 chance for either side to win but on Sunday we just gave it away. It was a bad defeat."
The Pakistani bowlers gave away 125 runs in the last 10 overs of the innings which according to Akram was disappointing as the bowling lineup could not sustain the pressure. Further, Vivian Richards and Brian Lara who featured on Pakistan's PTV Sports stated that India were always the favourites to emerge victorious out of the contest.
"Look at the other teams and their number three batsman. Pakistan is playing Babar Azam in such a big event at such a crucial position. They have got it wrong," Richards said. Lara, on the other hand, batted for India to reach the finals of the tournament after their convincing win against Pakistan.
Finally, Pakistani off-spinner Saeed Ajmal expressed his disappointment at the performance and stated that the side had formulated no plan before going into the match. "There appeared to be no direction and it made no sense at all to open the bowling with Imad and then given him the final over when India
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