Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal went on a two-minute rant following the Green Shirts’ loss in the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh. The Shaheen Shah Afridi-led side went down by 11 runs in the decider in Dhaka on Sunday, and as a result, Bangladesh won the series 2-1. For the contest against Bangladesh, the Pakistan management decided to leave out the likes of Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, and later it was revealed that the duo sustained injuries during the T20 World Cup. However, the youngsters failed to grab the opportunity and buckled under pressure.
Salman Ali Agha scored a century in the series decider, but his dismissal proved to be the final nail in the coffin as Shaheen was unable to get 12 runs off the final two balls, and Pakistan went down by 11 runs.
Reacting to Pakistan’s defeat, Akmal said the team might even lose to the Netherlands, and it’s baffling that the heads aren’t rolling at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He also raised questions on how Pakistan plan to win the ICC trophies if they aren’t able to register a victory in a bilateral series.
“For god’s sake, think about Pakistan cricket. Just see the levels we have gone down to. The Netherlands must be thinking that if they get to play a three-match ODI series against Pakistan, they can attain Test status, as they can also beat us. You have made a mockery of your cricket. You people just don’t care,” said Akmal on the ‘Game Plan’ show.
“You have lost the match. What experiments are you doing? It was a good pitch. Why did you choose to bowl? Why didn’t you bat? They would have scored 350. Litton Das was slow in the end, that’s why Bangladesh got restricted to 290. It was a series decider. When you do not win the series against teams, how will you progress? ICC trophy chori karke leke aani hai? ( You plan to steal the ICC trophies?),” he added.
Series loss follows T20 World Cup debacle
Before the ODI series loss against Bangladesh, Pakistan also performed poorly in the T20 World Cup, failing to reach the semi-finals. The Green Shirts lost their group-stage match against India and then went down to England in the Super 8s.
The Super 8s tie against New Zealand was abandoned due to rain. The equation was simple for Pakistan in the final match against Sri Lanka. A win by 65 runs would have taken them to the semi-finals, but it wasn’t meant to be. Pakistan won by 5 runs, but it wasn’t enough to take them to the semi-finals.
This was the fourth ICC event in a row that Pakistan failed to reach the semis.
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