Pakistan cricket team’s downfall has been under the scanners since the Test series loss to Bangladesh. They are drawing criticism from all quarters of the world for their recent underperformance across formats. The PCB has been accused of favouring some players, while the lacklustre captaincy of Babar Azam (white-ball) and Shan Masood (red-ball) was also exposed in the recent ICC events and Test series.
The cricket fraternity also expressed shock at Pakistan’s big downfall as they have been dropped to eighth position in the Test rankings, which is their lowest since 1965.
Veteran India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was also surprised after Pakistan’s whitewash by Bangladesh at home. Ashwin said it wasn’t possible 10 years ago to beat Pakistan like this, with players Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan in their side, even when they used to play in UAE.
However, out-of-favour batter Ahmed Shehzad took a sarcastic dig at the Pakistan team and suggested that there is nothing to be surprised by witnessing their downfall.
“Why are you surprised Ashwin? Don’t worry, everything is fine here. Can’t you see that stadiums are being built over here? Continuous digging is being done. Don’t be surprised at all,” Shehzad said on his YouTube channel.
Pakistan’s miserable home record in Tests stretched to 10 matches without a win. Their last home win was in December 2021 against South Africa at Rawalpindi. Shan Masood has suffered a second consecutive clean sweep since he was elevated to the Test skipper last year, having lost to Australia 3-0.
“Why are you surprised Ravi?”
Shehzad further suggested that organising the Champions One-Day Cup won’t change anything much in Pakistan cricket while taking a dig at the PCB.
“Are you not seeing that Pakistan is organizing a cup? (Champions One-Day Cup). Just wait and watch the number of players who come out of this tournament. How we get a battery of fast bowlers and produce players. Are you not seeing this? Why are you surprised Ravi?” Shehzad continued.
Earlier this year, Pakistan failed to qualify for the Super 8 round of the T20 World cup after losing the group stage match to non-Test playing nation USA and arch-rivals India.
Shehzad points out groupism as the reason behind the recent results of Pakistan team at the big stages, including the World Cups and Test series.
“So what if we couldn’t qualify for the Super 8 round of the 2024 T20 World Cup? So what if there is groupism in our team? So what if the current players in the team are not performing?” he concluded.
