Shan Masood-led Pakistan, is on the verge of scripting a win against England in the ongoing second Test of the three-match series in Multan. Ben Stokes and co, face an uphill battle in trying to chase down the total of 297 on a pitch, that is now turning square. Till last week, Pakistan were ridiculed by many in the cricketing circles. The team which was on a losing spree, eventually also dropped star batter Babar Azam, from the second Test against England.
Even pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah were axed. In a major shake-up to change the fortunes of Pakistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board appointed a fresh set of selectors, reducing the selection committee’s size from seven to five members. Led by former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed, the committee also includes Aleem Dar, Asad Shafiq and Hassan Cheema.
The captain Shaan Masood and Test head coach Jason Gillespie were also stripped off their voting rights in the selection process. Amidst all these drama, a clip has surfaced on X (formerly Twitter), in which Aaqib Javed spoke about his chance encounter with Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Talking about the meeting in a podcast, Aaqib said, “We met the Indian players during our series against Sri Lanka. Gautam Gambhir ne mujhe kaha ke ‘Aaqib bhai, yeh Pakistan cricket ko kya ho gaya hai? Itna talent hai, hum bhi dekhte hain, sab kuch hai, inhone kiya kya hai?‘ (Gambhir asked me what has happened to Pakistan cricket despite so much talent and everything, what have they done?)” said Aaqib.
The former Pakistan pacer then spoke about how Pakistan’s fall has taken the sheen out of India-Pakistan encounters.
“He (Gambhir) also feels sorry about it, because there are a few (top-level) teams, and the Pakistan-India matches provide the biggest thrill. So if your team (Pakistan) falls like that then one of the game’s biggest matches loses its charm,” he said.
“ICC mei log haste hain (people in the ICC laugh about it),” he concluded.
Pakistan’s downfall across formats…
Speaking of Pakistan, the side has faced several embarrassing results off late. The team recently lost the first Test against England, after posting 556 runs in the first innings.
Earlier this year, Pakistan failed to make the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, after facing losses against USA and India. The side was also unable to make the semis of ODI World Cup in 2023.
Coming back to the ongoing second Test between Pakistan and England, the visitors have lost five wickets in pursuit of a target of 297. If Pakistan wins the ongoing second Test, the series will be on level terms at 1-1.
