Pakistan have conceded an unassailable 2-0 lead to England in the ongoing three-Test series.
While Pakistan lost the Rawalpindi Test by 74 runs, they were beaten by 26 runs in the second match in Multan. As a result, the hosts conceded an unassailable 2-0 lead to England in the three-Test series.
Following the series loss, the Babar Azam-led side is drawing flak from all quarters. Amid the criticism, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja on Saturday (December 17) defended the team.
Speaking to the media, Ramiz acknowledged that Pakistan’s Test cricket pool is very limited.
“Jab aap dono matches haare hote hai toh do teen cheezein negative hote hai - ek, negative mindset, dusra, jo dressing room environment kharab ho sakti hai. Par abhi tak iss team ne waise hone nehi diya(When you lose two matches in a row, there there are a couple of negative things that can happen - either there could be a negative mindset or there could be a negative environment in the dressing room. But this team has shown neither). So credit to them,” Raja said.
“Our Test cricket pool is very limited. We want the players to make their debut at home and none of them were bad debuts. We saw how good Saud Shakeel batted. And had they not given that down-the-leg-side-catch out, we would have won the Test. If the last five batters tend to score at least 10-15 runs then we can improve a lot."
Pakistan had a good chance of securing one of the first two spots in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings before the series but they have now slipped to No. 6 on the table and find themselves in dire trouble.
The Babar-led team has a PCT of just 42.42% on the WTC points table. In order to remain in contention for a top-two spot, they will not only have to win the third Test against England but also beat New Zealand when they tour Pakistan next month and hope for other results to go in their favour.
The third and final Test is currently being held at National Stadium, Karachi.