Pakistan‘s cricket team faced a devastating and humiliating 10-wicket defeat against Bangladesh during the first Test match in Rawalpindi, as part of Bangladesh’s tour of Pakistan 2024. The loss, coming on home soil, has raised serious concerns about the state of Pakistan cricket, which appears to be spiraling into an unprecedented decline.

Ahmad Shahzad on Pakistan’s humiliating defeat

Ahmad Shahzad did not hold back in his criticism of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the state of the team. Shahzad took to social media, posting a video on X (formerly known as Twitter), where he expressed deep disappointment and frustration at the current situation. He minced no words as he discussed the gravity of the defeat, calling it a symptom of a much larger problem plaguing Pakistan cricket.

“Pakistan team ka itihasik patan shuru ho chuka hai. Desh ke saath baar baar jhoot bola gaya hai aur aaj, Bangladesh ke haathon itihasik zaleel kar dene wali shikast ke baad, phir se ek ganda mazaak khela gaya hai. Desh ko kisse puchna chahiye aur kis ka gala pakde? In sab halaton ka zimmedar kaun hai?” (The historic downfall of the Pakistan team has begun. The nation has been lied to again and again and today, after the historic humiliating defeat by Bangladesh, the dirty joke has been played again. Whom should the nation ask for an answer from and whose throat should they grab? Who is responsible for all these situations?)

پاکستان ٹیم کا تاریخی زوال شروع ہو چکا ہے۔ قوم کے ساتھ بار بار جھوٹ بولا گیا اور آج بنگلہ دیش سے تاریخی ذلّت آمیز شکست کے بعد پھر سے گھناؤنا مذاق کیا گیا۔ قوم اب کس سے جواب طلب کرے اور کس کا گلا پکڑے؟ ان سب حالات کا اصل ذمےدار کون؟؟#PAKvBAN pic.twitter.com/AdXZhy3z7n

— Ahmad Shahzad 🇵🇰 (@iamAhmadshahzad) August 25, 2024

Also READ:‘Aapne pichle 5 saalon se kuch nahi seekha’: Kamran Akmal lashes out at Pakistan following 10-wicket defeat against Bangladesh

Shahzad blames Pakistan Cricket Board

Shahzad went on to describe how the defeat marked a new low for Pakistan cricket, further intensifying the agony that had been building up over recent months due to repeated losses.

“Maine apni zindagi mein kabhi Pakistan ko itna neeche nahi dekha. Batting, bowling aur fielding ka toh kisi aur din baat hogi, lekin yeh Pakistan cricket ka ek naya neecha point hai. Is shikast se ubharna unke liye bohot mushkil hoga. Woh aaj tak Afghanistan ke khilaaf wali haar se nahi ubhar paaye hain.” (I haven’t seen Pakistan go this low in my life. Batting, bowling, and fielding is a discussion for another day. But this is a new low in Pakistan cricket. It will be very tough for them to recover from this defeat. They haven’t recovered from the defeat against Afghanistan until today).

The former cricketer emphasized that the root of the problem lies in short-term decision-making by the PCB, which has had detrimental effects on the team’s performance. He criticized the board for their inability to develop a solid long-term plan and failing to strengthen the domestic cricket structure.

“Maine pehle hi kaha tha ke agar aap short term decisions loge, toh yeh aapki cricket ko nuqsaan pohchayega. Pakistan cricket waise hi andheron ki taraf ja rahi hai, lekin humne yeh umeed nahi ki thi ke Bangladesh ke khilaaf haarenge.”(I told earlier that if you take short-term decisions, it will hamper your cricket. Pakistan cricket is already heading towards darkness, but we did not expect to lose against Bangladesh).

Poor player management and development 

The right-handed batter also defended the players, placing the blame squarely on the PCB for mishandling the situation and pushing players to their limits without giving proper opportunities to domestic talent. He noted the lack of player development and emphasized that it was the PCB’s failure to create a sustainable pipeline of talent, rather than the players’ fault.

“Players ka koi kasoor nahi hai. Kasoor PCB ka hai kyunke players ne kabhi zabardasti team mein lene ko nahi kaha. Yeh aap ho jo unhe lagataar khela rahe ho. Yeh aap ho jo domestic cricketers ko aage nahi aane de rahe ho. Aap khud maante ho ke domestic cricket mein kaafi players nahi hain. Agar aisa hai, toh aapne kya banaya hai?” (Players are not at fault. PCB is at fault because players never asked to be picked forcefully. It’s you who are making them play constantly. It’s you who are not letting domestic cricketers come along. You admit that there are not enough players in domestic cricket. If this is the case, what have you made?)

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