Former Pakistan cricketer, Ramiz Raja, believes that the Men in Green rely heavily on their captain, Babar Azam, who was dismissed for a duck in the first ODI against Afghanistan in Hambantota.

“Pakistan team is heavily reliant on Babar Azam, be it Test cricket, ODIs or T20Is. He makes the headlines even when he is dismissed for a duck,” Raja said on his YouTube channel.

Raja also identified a concern regarding Pakistan batters’ struggle against spin bowling. He stressed that this issue needs to be addressed in preparation for upcoming events such as the Asia Cup and the World Cup, which will be played under similar playing conditions.

Raja cautioned that if the spin bowling issue remains unaddressed, it could significantly hinder Pakistan's progress in these tournaments.

“Pakistan is facing issues against spin bowling and this is something they need to fix ahead of the Asia Cup and World Cup because they will be played in similar conditions,” he said.

“If we don’t resolve this issue, we will find it really hard to progress in a tournament. It seemed as if the Pakistan batters were like a rabbit that freezes when in front of a car’s headlights,” he concluded.