Former Pakistan captain and commentator Ramiz Raja has slammed the Pakistan team, led by stand-in captain Salman Ali Agha, for their innings and 103-run defeat to England in the first Test of the three-match series away from home.
Speaking to BBC’s Test Match Special, Raja has lashed out at the fact that the national team is running out of fast bowlers that it has always been famous for. For the unversed, Pakistan have heavily relied on spin-friendly tracks at home for winning at home. However, according to Raja, that practice has led to Pakistan producing a “one-dimensional team”.
“You try to produce a one-dimensional team that can only win on select surfaces. You’ve discouraged pace bowling and because so many players want to play T20S because it is a route to success, they are just not bothered about playing Tests,” Raja said on BBC’s Test Match Special.
Raja asserted that the team had in the past been able to rely on its fast bowlers to bounce back from bad starts. Furthermore, the former skipper reckoned that Pakistan fans have stopped backing the team after they suffered 17 defeats in their last 20 Tests.
“These are desperate times for Pakistan cricket to make a comeback through pace. It has always been our thing; if you discourage the DNA that completes us, what is the point in then playing Tests?” Raja questioned.
“The first pillar has fallen, and that is the fans; they are disenchanted, they are not going to back this team and who would? If you lose 17 Tests in the last 20 you have played, nobody is going to back this team,” he concluded.
Delving into the details of the first Test, Pakistan batted first and got bundled out for 171 runs in 48.1 overs. In reply, England posted a whopping total of 409 runs in 89.5 overs, taking a huge lead. In the third innings, Pakistan got all out for 135 runs as England bagged an innings and 103-run win to take a 1-0 lead.
