Ex-Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has taken the national team to the cleaners after a humiliating ten-wicket loss to Bangladesh in the first of the two Tests in Rawalpindi. The 53-year-old criticised lack of foot movement from Babar Azam and how Nahid Rana got the better of him with pace.
Babar had a forgettable match with the bat as Pakistan suffered their first-ever loss to Bangladesh in Tests. The ex-skipper registered a two-ball duck in the first innings and narrowly escaped a pair in the second. However, he failed to cash in on it and perished for 22 after chopping one onto the stumps.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Basit remarked:
(Yeh log batting karna bhool gaye hain ya Bangladeshi team ne inpe koi jaadu kiya hai ya pitch ka trick hai? Aap log toh Bradman ho na? ICC No.1 Babar Azam. Usko ek life mili thi jab ek catch drop ho gaya tha, lekin Nahid Rana ne pace se usko outsmart kiya.
(I'm feeling very disappointed that it seems as if you’ve forgotten how to bat, or have the Bangladesh bowlers cast some magic on you, or is it the pitch that’s done the trick? You all are supposed to be big Bradmans, right? ICC No. 1 Babar Azam. He got a life when a catch was dropped, but then Nahid Rana chased Babar down with his pace. When he got out, it looked like he didn’t even expect the ball to come back like that)
"Bangladesh were worthy winners" - Shan Masood
Pakistan skipper Shan Masood said at the post-match presentation that the hosts had committed plenty of mistakes and didn't deserve to win. He explained:
"As a team, we made a lot of mistakes over the four days and Bangladesh were worthy winners. They were very disciplined in their batting. We gave them a few chances as well when Mehidy and Mushfiqur [Rahim] were playing. As a bowling unit where we lost the game was the second new ball. That's where we could have imposed ourselves on the game and let ourselves down."
