Pakistan was annihilated in first two Tests of the series, before a short comeback in Birmingham.
Dinesh Karthik, a former Indian cricketer, has called the Pakistan team that played in the England three-Test series very ordinary. This came after the Babar Azam-led side was whitewashed by England 3-0 at home. What was the point of concern, that the Pakistan team couldn’t even compete with their opposition?
England won the first Test in Leeds by an innings and 103 runs after Pakistan was bowled out for 171 and 135 in response to their 409 runs. In the second Test at Lord’s, England hammered Pakistan by 194 runs, as the visitors could only manage 110 and 194 runs.
Pakistan fared well in the third and final Test in Birmingham despite getting bowled out for 133 in the first innings. Azan Awais, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, and debutant Razaullah hammered half-centuries to score 449 runs. But England managed to win the game by 8 wickets and pocketed the series 3-0.
Dinesh Karthik, who provided commentary and analysis during the series and frequently voiced his displeasure with Pakistan's performance, has now posted a video on social media in which he makes a detailed jab at Azam's team. He is empathetic most of the time, but overall, it's a huge takedown.
“When I did the England vs. Pakistan Test series, man, this Pakistan team is very ordinary. In the first two Test matches, they didn't even play 90 overs across two innings. The wickets were spicy. It wasn't easy, but it definitely wasn't a pitch where you could not play 90 overs across both innings. I don't think that's good enough. I think what they're doing is a disservice to Test cricket, like what Nasser Hussain said. I quite agree with him because they made 7 changes [in the squad after the second Test] and made changes to the support staff [sacked Test head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul after going down 2-0 in the series]. In the last match, they competed,” Karthik said in a video on his Instagram account.
Karthik goes on to add, "Somebody like Razaullah, who actually did well in the Test match [the third and final one], why was he not there from the start? What is happening with the selection process? What kind of players are they having? The change in captaincy, the change in coaches, everything looks unsettled, and the performances are quite showing it. They didn't play [well] against England; it didn't feel like they could compete genuinely, and if I'm being honest, I don't think they can compete against a lot of Test nations at this point, which is sad.”
While he was optimistic about the future of Pakistan cricket, Karthik stated that it would need the right players, officials, and tough decisions to restore its former glory.
"They have a rich heritage, like you say, in Test cricket, but they are nowhere close [at present]. And having been part of it, I must say, it looks alarming, and I hope the right people are taking notice of that and doing what's required to bring them back up to speed, which, at this point in time, doesn't look easy,” Karthik stated.
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