Shoaib Akhtar slams Pakistan team after losing Rawalpindi Test against England
Shoaib Akhtar
Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has slammed the Babar Azam-led team for theirpoor intent in the recently-concluded Test match against England in Rawalpindi.
Taking to his YouTube channel, Akhtar said, "England gave a chance to Pakistan. England told them, 'You save your Test match. We will save Test cricket. You save your place in the team. We will break our bowlers for you'.However, Pakistan did not capitalise on it."
The former speedster added that if Pakistan was in England's position, they would have played for safety.
"There is a difference in the mindset. If Pakistan were in a similar situation as England, would they declare? They would never declare."
Earlier, Akhtar had trained his guns on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for preparing a dead pitch where over 500 runs were amassed by the visitors on Day 1.
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“I request my countrymen to write a letter to the Pakistan Cricket Board and request them,If they had already thought of giving away 500 runs on day 1, they would’ve told us earlier," said Akhtar.
After scoring a mammoth 657 runs in the first innings, the three lions went bonkers in their second innings, going at over seven runs an over, to declare at 264 for 7 in 35.5 overs.
Chasing 343, Pakistan had four sessions to create history and were cruising at 248 for 5. With the bad light expected to come into play soon, the Pakistani batters had to brave the conditions for a few overs.
However, James Anderson and Ollie Robinson had different plans. Both seamers stuck to their plan that helped them pick wickets at regular intervals. With incredible implementation and execution by the English bowlers, they wrapped up Pakistan’s second innings on 268 runs.
Despite the result, which was made possible, largely thanks to England's bold approach, the Rawalpindi pitch has been panned by fans and critics alike. The placid surface offered nothing to the bowlers who had to toil excessively hard to make a breakthrough. The ICC in its review is expected to be extremely critical in its assessment of the pitch.
(With inputs from agencies)
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