Pakistan team once again has been under the hammer after their disappointing loss to mighty Australians at Perth during the First Test. Australia humiliated Pakistan to win the test match convincingly by 360 runs after bundling out Pakistan for a paltry of 89 runs in the second innings.
Such was an impact of Australian bowling attack that the Pakistani batters hardly took stance and showed some kind of intent against the likes of quicks Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and captain Pat Cummins. To add to their worries , Australian spinner Nathan Lyon spun a web of bowling across helping Australia to bundle Pakistan to a meagre total
This performance from the Pakistan National Team led by Shan Masood of surrendering and not even putting up a fight has raised severe turmoil’s in the minds of the former players about the inability of the team to perform at the highest level. In the second innings No Pakistani batter even showed the courage to withstand the hostile Australian bowling. Batters failed like mere chips in front of the mighty Australian bowling showing their inability to adjust to the swing and seam offered on the bouncy Australian tracks.
After the fielding debacle on first day of the test ,and losing advantage to Australia in the first innings, Pakistan always had to play a catch up game which resulted into the insulting defeat within 4 days against Australia who in turn bought up their A game in the match. This humiliating performance from Team Pakistan has angered the likes of former Pakistani batter and captain Salman Butt.
Nobody wants to talk about merit-Salman Butt slams Pakistan
Former Pakistani captain Salman Butt launched a scathing attack on the Pakistani team’s management following the Men in Green’s embarrassing loss to Australia in the Test series opener in Perth.
Butt opined that a few Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials indulging in favoritism has led to the side’s downfall. The cricketer-turned-expert said in his latest YouTube video:
“We have an unprofessional approach. We have failed because everyone wants to bring in people from their city or people they have good relations with. People who occupy the top seats must address this. However, despite being in a powerful position, they complain about a player from their region not getting a chance. Nobody wants to talk about merit,”
Salman Butt also slammed the approach of Pakistani batters during the first Test. He pointed out how even the senior batters of the team erred by playing on the front foot on the bouncy pitch, elaborating:
“I was quite surprised. Didn’t the Pakistani players know that they had come to Perth? There was going to be pace and bounce there, but three of four batters got out while trying to play on the front foot. There is no need to go on the front foot on such wickets,”
“Even Australian batters would get out here if they started playing drives. Even the guys who have toured Australia in the past played like that. The preparation to play on the back foot and score off good deliveries was completely missing,” he stated.
Salman Butt also went ahead and highlighted how Australia looked like a far superior side compared to Pakistan in the recently concluded Test. He even claimed that the Men in Green have not prioritized red-ball cricket.
Assessing the performances of the two teams, the 39-year-old added:
“Australia played like true champions. There was a clear difference between the two teams, giving us an idea of where both sides stand in Test cricket, from the understanding of the game to the skillset. We also got to know which team has prioritized Test cricket. Test cricket has not been a priority for Pakistan for a very long time now,”
Shan Masood and team will be hoping for a strong response in the second Test, which will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne from December 26 to 30.