Former cricketers criticise Pakistan’s approach in ODIs

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL

Former Pakistan cricketers believe that team's wrong approach in ODI cricket is the reason behind their below-par performances during the ongoing Asia Cup 2018.

The Men in Green suffered second humiliating defeat against arch-rivals India for the second time in the tournament in space of less than a week, and former cricketers belive team's overall approach should be questioned.

“The failure of our bowlers was evident from the fact that they were not able to dismiss any of the players in the match,” said Sallahuddin Sallu while talking to The Express Tribune. “They should know how to switch from T20I to ODI style.”

Sallu further stated that the team has some good batsmen but they are failing to show their form and potential. He also stressed on the importance of the openers scoring runs and taking pressure off the rest of the batting lineup.

“The openers should take the responsibility because if the openers score well there is less pressure on the rest of the batting lineup,” he said. “In last three matches, the openers failed which cost us this defeat. The pressure was shifted to the other batsmen who were also not able to cope with it. If the batsman on every position does their defined role then the team can score big. Opening is a specialized job and same goes for other positions.”

He further said that the batsmen should play according to the situation rather than playing reckless shots and getting out at crucial moments.

“We have had players like Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq who were power hitters but even if they fail they used to do well in bowling but here players like Asif Ali, who is a specialized batsman, come out hitting a big shot and then throw away their wicket. They should play their role properly,” he said.

Meanwhile, off-spinner Saeed Ajmal said that the team has some good players but their ability to perform under pressure is questionable.  

“We do have batsmen who can play good bowlers but their selection of shot is not correct and also not on the right time. They tend to come under pressure against tough opposition,” he said.

Ajmal also criticised the Pakistan team for not learning from their mistakes while he praised the Indian team putting up a significantly better performances as compared to their efforts in the Champions Trophy 2017 final.

“The team has member from the winning team of Champions Trophy and same goes for India, but the difference is that India has overcome their mistakes and come back as a strong team in every department, but for Pakistan they are at the same stage although they have improved their fitness but not their skills and abilities,” he said.

He added that the bowlers have to work on something new: “They cannot follow the same old strategy; new bowling tactics have to be worked out for each batsman. They will have to study the batsmen and then plan accordingly.”

Pakistan will take on Bangladesh on September 26 in their super-four clash. The winner of the match will secure a place in the final of Asia Cup on September 28 against India.