Former players disgusted with Pakistan’s approach against India

[Arsalan Pro]

KARACHI: Pakistan’s defeat against India has been described as “shameful” and “humiliating” by country’s former players.

Wasim Akram said India’s cricket had improved a lot due to the IPL and massive investment in the sport.

“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.”

He pointed out that India have many advantages over Pakistan as their captain is more mature and experienced as is their team.

Wasim said he was disappointed with the performance of the bowlers in the final 10 overs as they cracked under pressure.

Another ex-captain and wicket-keeper Rashid Latif said, “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.”

Shahid Afridi called for a major shake-up in the wake of the humiliating defeat.

“The gap between Indian and Pakistani teams is bigger than ever! India has evolved and we are way behind now,” he said on his Twitter account.

“We need to overhaul approach, mindset and work on improving our stagnating skills and play with clear minds.”

Former Test opener Aamir Sohail said while the media loves to present it otherwise the truth is this Pakistan team doesn’t have the ability to beat the current Indian side.

Former express bowler Shoaib Akhtar lashed out at the players for showing no heart.

“Who in their right mind would open the bowling in such English conditions with a spinner who can 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 think-tank,” he said.

Shoaib also took head coach Mickey Arthur to task for saying after the match that it was his decision to play Wahab Riaz over Junaid Khan as there was no difference between Junaid and Hassan Ali, who played in the match.

“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.”

Ex-Test batsman Moham*mad Yousuf said people needed to accept the reality.

“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.”

Yousuf said that even though the Edgbaston pitch was excellent for batting none of the Pakistani batters showed the technique to make use of the conditions.

“What happened is shameful. It is humiliating for us because we have played and beaten India many times. We used to dominate them.”

Yousuf called for sacking Arthur.

Former Test opener and ex-head coach of the Pakistan team, Mohsin Khan said if Pakistan continued to play the way they did against India they would face similar results against South Africa and Sri Lanka.

“The coach has been a big disappointment as the team appeared to be without a plan while I am disappointed with the captaincy of Sarfraz Ahmed who appeared lost in the match.”

Viv Richards and Brian Lara, appearing on PTV sports, said on paper India were always favourites to win the match.

“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 termed India as one of the favorites to reach the final after their dominating performances against Pakistan.

An upset Saeed Ajmal said he couldn’t understand what planning Pakistan had done for the match.

“Their 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 were on a rampage,” the off-spinner said

https://www.dawn.com/news/1337653/former-players-disgusted-with-pakistans-approach-against-india

 

[Arsalan Pro]

KARACHI: Pakistan’s abysmal showing in their 143-run defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India in the opening match of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy on Sunday has expectedly attracted heavy criticism from former cricketers.

Recently retired all-rounder Abdul Razzaq could’ve made peace with captain Sarfraz Ahmed’s decision to bowl first but couldn’t fathom the logic of choosing left-arm spinner Imad Wasim to share the new ball with pacer Mohammad Amir.

“Sarfraz might have taken the decision to bowl first due to the overcast conditions,” Razzaq told The Express Tribune. “Inviting your opponent to bat first after winning the toss, though a rare decision, could have worked had the right combination of bowlers been used.

“Unless your spin options are really effective, you cannot use one to open the attack against a nation that thrives against spinners,” he added, reminding that it was this particular decision that set the depressing tone for the rest of the day.

Five talking points from Pakistan’s humiliation against India

“Had it been Hassan Ali or Wahab Riaz sharing the new ball with Amir, things could have been much different,” he said.

Despite his decision backfiring big time, Razzaq feels Sarfraz alone should be in charge of picking his starting eleven. “Sarfraz should be given a free hand to lead and select his playing 11 per the team’s need; the interference of the management will not let the captain turn this into a good team,” he said.

Former opener Yasir Hameed was much more varied and scathing with his criticism, saying: “Pakistan losing to India by such a huge margin in a rain-affected match is a shame for the team and shows where our team stands in world cricket.

11 feel-good pictures from the India-Pakistan Champions Trophy clash

“The energy that this fixture used to have in the past was nowhere to be seen because Pakistani players did not actually show up to play.”

Hameed, like Razzaq, found fault with the decision to bowl first and that too with a left-arm spinner. “Opting to field and then choosing a left-arm spinner to open were the first few of a series of poor decisions,” he said.

“The remaining mistakes, as usual, were made in the field where chances were missed and new lives were given to the Indian batsman.”

Indian publications rub it in Pakistan’s face after humiliating defeat

Hameed also took Pakistan batsmen to task, saying that they seemed unconfident and under pressure. “India’s top five batsmen were able to score half-centuries because their openers had put a strong base; they had the option to take risk and hit the ball hard,” he said.

Hameed concluded that all of Pakistan’s struggles at international level stem from the country’s poor domestic cricket structure. “We have so much talent that can be seen in Ramazan tournaments but they are not able to reach the top because the structure of domestic cricket is not up to the mark,” he added.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1428023/costly-errors-india-irk-former-cricketers/

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Bla bla bla, same old crap. Feelings hurt, nothing more. They'll get over it tomorrow.