'Did others come to sell pickles?': Ex-Pak spinner takes a dig at Shaheen-less pace attack after 1st Test loss
Ex-Pak spinner takes a dig at Shaheen-less pace attack after Rawalpindi Test
Babar Azam-led Pakistan lost the three-match Test series opener versus England in Rawalpindi on Monday (December 05). From the word go, England impressed one and all with their all-out approach and were rewarded with a stunning 74-run win in the fag end of the final day. Opting to bat first, Ben Stokes & Co. posted 657 all-out in 101 overs and gained a 78-run lead after Pakistan were dismissed for 579 in their first essay.
In their second innings, England slammed 264/7 in 35.5 overs to set up a challenging 343-run target for the home side. In reply, Pakistan were 259 for 5 but soon reduced to 268 all-out to lose by 74 runs. After the match, ex-Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has slammed Babar Azam and Ramiz Raja-led PCB.
On his Youtube channel, Kaneria said, "Abhi hamari management ake baat karegi, Babar Azam baat karenge, PCB k head baat karenge 'acchi cricket kheli England ne, hume unse seekhna chaie. Toh seekho na. Kab seekhoge? Time Guzar jayega. (Now our management will come out and talk, Babar Azam and the PCB chief Ramiz Raja will say 'England played well and we should learn from them'. When will you learn? It's already too late)."
Further, Kaneria opined, "They might blame Shaheen Afridi’s absence for the loss. If he’s not available, thendusre achar bechne aaye thhe? (Didother bowlerscome to sell pickles?) Where are the planning and strategy, where is the reverse swing?"
"We only talk about the revival of international cricket in Pakistan.Pura din wahi manjan chal raha hota hai(The same discussion continues throughout the course of theday). Pakistan were clueless. Babar Azam should learn from Ben Stokes’ captaincy. Coaches around the world should also learn from Brendon McCullum. Their team doesn’t fear loss, but ours does."
Kaneria added, “Our management fears losses. They only say that the team has been doing good. We are the No. 1 team. How can the Asia Cup happen without us? etc., but we don’t check where our cricket is heading. We made the wicket which was called dead rubber in Rawalpindi."
Many have slammed Ramiz-led PCB for Rawalpindi's nature of the surface. Despite England declaring with 343 to get for Pakistan, the home side still had a realistic chance to win the series opener with four sessions to play. However, there were plenty of soft dismissals which led to Pakistan's defeat.
The second and penultimate Test commences on December 09 in Multan.