The Pakistan cricket team faced backlash from fans and former cricketers on Monday after a display of poor performance culminating in a 120-run defeat in the second and final Test against the West Indies, which resulted in the series ending in a tie.
Former wicketkeeper-batter Rashid Latif and Sikandar Bakht have criticised the side over handing the Windies their first-ever Test win after 35 years in Pakistan, their last win being in 1990.
In a recent appearance, Bakht criticised Pakistan’s over-reliance on the spin bowling attack throughout the two-match Test series and questioned the strategy to play only spinners. He argued that “no team can win by playing with just one approach; variation is necessary”.
“A team of 11 players should have fast bowlers, spinners, and all-rounders. You beat England this way, but they were unprepared. Now, every team that comes to Pakistan will be prepared for the spin attack. This way of playing is not the correct approach; you need variation. Fast bowlers should have been included in the middle,” he said.
The 67-year-old also expressed confusion over Shan Masood’s comments regarding the team’s lack of preparedness for the conditions, stating, “I don’t understand why Shan Masood said, ‘We were not ready for these conditions.’ What does that even mean? It seems like he wasn’t ready to play in these conditions himself, and he’s admitting it”.
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif also weighed in on the matter, attributing the team’s struggles to persistent issues with batting. He also criticised the team’s lack of preparation and failure to adapt to challenges.
“We won three out of four matches, but nobody talks about the losses, including 12 Test matches which Shan captained and lost nine, including two against Bangladesh,” said Rashid.
Both Bakht and Latif agreed that Pakistan’s cricket management needs significant improvements.
The former captain cited poor planning, frequent changes, and ineffective selection committees as the root causes of the team’s struggles.
Bakht echoed these sentiments, suggesting that fast bowlers should have been included in the squad. He also mentioned that players like Sajid Khan, who could be valuable in ODIs, are being overlooked.
“The real issues are clear: poor planning, too many changes, and clueless selection committees,” Rashid stated.
On the subject of domestic cricket, both Bakht and Latif raised concerns about top players, including Babar Azam, not participating in domestic matches.
“Players like Babar Azam have low averages in home matches, and that’s concerning,” Bakht remarked.
Rashid added that even in India, players like Virat Kohli face criticism for not playing enough domestic cricket.
