It seems as though a sudden spell of poor form has hit the Pakistan team. In the final ODI of the series against the West Indies, Pakistan suffered a disastrous batting collapse. Chasing 295 in Trinidad, Mohammad Rizwan’s side was bowled out for just 92 runs.
Pakistan had actually started the series well, winning the first match by five wickets. However, the Caribbean side leveled the series by winning the second ODI via the DLS method, also by five wickets. In the third match, Pakistan’s batting completely crumbled.
Right at the start, all three openers — Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, and captain Rizwan — were dismissed for ducks. Pakistan ended up losing the match by a massive 202-run margin.
Following such a humiliating defeat, former Pakistan cricketers expressed their anger. Shoaib Akhtar sharply criticized the batters, saying, “You can’t keep roaming around with Rawalpindi pitches.”
Basit Ali went a step further, saying, “I pray India doesn’t face Pakistan in the Asia Cup. They’ll beat us in a way you can’t even imagine.”
In a humorous tone, the program host remarked that with the current form, Pakistan doesn’t even have a chance against Afghanistan. Basit replied, “If we lose to Afghanistan, nobody in the country will make much fuss. But if we lose to India, everyone goes crazy.”
On the “Game On Hai” show, Shoaib said, “Our country has always had explosive talent, and we used to play that way. We never relied on just one player. Everyone contributed. Nobody looked for a way to escape. The environment has changed, and in the last 10–15 years, everyone has started playing for themselves. They play for their averages. The goal should be to win matches for the country. We need to change our purpose and mindset, and create that environment again. You have to play according to modern cricket.”
The Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format, in which Pakistan’s record is comparatively better. In their previous T20 series against the West Indies, they won 2–1 — without Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in the squad. There is speculation that these two might also miss the Asia Cup.
