The former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja did not hold back on Sunday as he criticized Pakistan’s selection choices, which led to a crushing 10-wicket defeat at the hands of Bangladesh in the first Test of a two-match series. This defeat marked Pakistan’s first-ever Test loss against Bangladesh. With the team now staring down the barrel of a possible series whitewash on home soil, Raja delivered a stern warning to captain Shan Masood.
In a post-match analysis on his YouTube channel, Raja expressed bewilderment at Pakistan’s decision to field four fast bowlers without including a single specialist spinner. He pointed out that Bangladesh’s spinners were instrumental in their victory, accounting for nine of the 16 wickets Pakistan lost, including seven in the second innings alone, where the hosts crumbled for a mere 146 runs, setting Bangladesh a trivial target of 30 runs.
Raja also remarked that Pakistan’s long-standing reputation for producing a formidable pace attack was shattered last year during a match against India in the Asia Cup. He suggested that the strategies to counter Pakistan’s pace battery had since become common knowledge in international cricket.
Ramiz Raja said, “Firstly, there was a mistake in team selection. You were without a spinner. Secondly, the reputation based on which we rely on our fast bowlers is finished. This debacle, a sort of a confidence crisis, started during the Asia Cup when India bashed our pacers on seaming conditions and then the secret was out to the world that the only way to counter this line-up was to attack. Their speeds have decreased, and so have their skill set. The Bangladesh fast bowlers seemed more penetrative while our bowlers were involved in more drama around their wickets. Since Pakistan did not have an out-and-out fast bowler on that track, even the Bangladesh, with that line-up stood tall against our pacers with speeds around 125 to 135kmph.”
This is really disastrous for Pakistani cricket, what do you say?
