Pakistan Cricket Sees Better Days After Defeat To New Zealand

Pakistan cricket is having better days following the defeat to New Zealand in another series. Former cricketer Kamran Akmal has criticized the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and its chairman Mohsin Naqvi in public. In his opinion, if the chairman cannot improve the team, then he should resign. The performance of the team recently has been a letdown for the fans. Their loss of the ODI series too is a source of disappointment considering that they earlier flopped at the T20 series and got ejected from the Champions Trophy.

Kamran Akmal was not apprehensive about touching on the case within the Pakistan cricket team. He suggested the overall performance by the team hasn't been according to expectations. He stressed the fact that PCB ought to urgently correct the issues. He attributed the performance of the players in the second ODI against New Zealand. Pakistan started well as they were able to restrict the Kiwis to 132 for 5. But the bowlers lost their grip and allowed Mitchell Hay and Muhammad Abbas to dominate. Hay remained not out on 99 and Abbas made 41 runs and took New Zealand to 292 for 8.

The bowling attack could not capitalize on conditions. Kamran Akmal mentioned the absence of proper bowling strategy. He questioned why Pakistani bowlers perform poorly even when the pitch provides bounce and swing. He believed that the side needs new faces to strengthen the bowling unit. He was disappointed that even favorable conditions could not help the bowlers perform better. He expressed anger that Pakistan did not require weaker opposition to play against so that they can win a game.

The batting of Pakistan was also lackluster. They were struggling at 65 for 6 by the 21st over. Faheem Ashraf struggled with a gritty 73 off 80 balls. Naseem Shah, who had replaced injured Haris Rauf, contributed 51 off 44 balls. Despite all their efforts, Pakistan was bowled out for 208 and went down by 84 runs. Kamran Akmal did acknowledge the contribution made by Ashraf but continued to assert that the likes of Naseem Shah need to focus more on getting wickets rather than scoring runs. He went on further to state that Pakistan's batting unit collapsed as soon as Babar Azam was dismissed. He even criticized the seriousness deficiency of most players after being beaten. He thought that only the coach regretted the loss, and that gave rise to doubts regarding the team's attitude.

Kamran Akmal thinks Pakistan cricket is on the brink. He requested the PCB chairman to do something or step down. He stressed that changes are necessary for rebuilding the team. Changes need to be made according to the opinion of most experts and fans. Pakistan cricket has a wonderful history, but unless proper decisions are taken and strategies are drawn, the side will never get better. The PCB must rectify these problems if they want to restore Pakistan's face in world cricket.