Rashid Latif tears into Pakistan cricket setup, blames political vendetta, aggressive changes for poor show

Former Pakistan captain and veteran keeper-batter Rashid Latif bashed the current situation of Pakistan cricket and its board in the country. Following their loss to India for the record eighth time in World Cup history in Ahmedabad by seven wickets, Latif pointed fingers towards political vendetta and aggressive changes in the top brass as reasons behind the team’s yet another failure on the big stage.

“The continuous political interference is ruining Pakistan cricket,” Rashid Latif said, as quoted in The Indian Express.

“In the past twelve months, we have seen three different persons heading the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). We have seen Ramiz Raja, then Najam Sethi, and now Zaka Ashraf is at the helm. And not to forget, in the same timeline, we have had five selectors as well. Mohammad Wasim, Micky Arthur, Shahid Afridi, Haroon Rasheed, and now Inzamam-ul-Haq,” Latif added while talking about the reason behind the fall of Pakistan Cricket.

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From being 155 for two at one stage to getting all out on 191 on a batting paradise at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Pakistan lost momentum and thus the match later on. For India, skipper Rohit Sharma led from the front, hitting a magnificent 86, including six sixes, helping India cross the line with relative ease.

Although Pakistan Captain Babar Azam completed his fifty and Muhammad Rizwan contributed with 49 in the middle overs, none of the batters could put pressure back on the Indian bowlers.

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“The selectors should also be blamed because there was no vision. Saud Shakeel, Abdullah Shafique and Hasan Ali were not in contention a year ago, and suddenly, they are in the ODI World Cup.

“Saud and Abdullah had never played a high-intensity game, and you cannot blame them. Fakhar Zaman was our main player for the past three years and all of a sudden, he was dropped. I agree that he was not in good form, but in my opinion, he should have batted at No 4 to face Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav,” Latif bashed the selection criteria.

Shaheen looked fatigued; Pakistan lacked mental toughness

The bowlers looked fatigued, starting with Shaheen, who is said to be carrying an injury. Besides him, Haris Rauf failed to terrorize batters with his steamy pace the way he does in the shortest format. And as per Rashid, with Indians being so good against the spin, they could have hit Shadab Khan with their eyes closed.

“I don’t know if Shaheen Afridi is injured, but he looked fatigued. Haris Rauf will have to learn how to hit the good lengths consistently. In the T20Is, the four-over spell can make you a superstar by firing all the cylinders in 24 balls. But in the ODIs and Test cricket, you need that mental toughness that was lacking in Ahmedabad,” the Pakistan veteran added.

“Shadab Khan’s spells against the minor teams are exceptional but when it comes to the top five side, he struggles. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jos Buttler, Glenn Maxwell, and David Miller face the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Rashid Khan and Tabraiz Shamsi in the nets; they will pick Shadab with their eyes shut,” Rashid slammed Pakistan team’s vice-captain.

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