Former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers has shared his brutal views on Pakistan's team’s poor showing in the ongoing England Test series. Pakistan lost the first Test in Leeds by an innings and 103 runs and then lost the second Test at Lord’s by 194 runs.
This led to the PCB giving a knee-jerk reaction by sacking seven players from the Pakistan squad and also dumping two coaches, including Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul, from the team. They called 7 players from Pakistan as replacements, with five yet to make their Test debuts.
AB de Villiers has slammed Babar Azam and co. for not showing any fight or guts on the England Test tour, where Pakistan was slammed and bashed from all sides.
The second test only extended to the fourth day due to rain, whilst the first test concluded in three days. Pakistan failed to achieve 200 runs in four innings, and de Villiers' criticism of the players for falling short of expectations was not surprising.
“I don't often currently see a lot of Pakistan players individually being prepared to put in those extra hard yards. Especially with the batting unit. Not enough. What's the word, guts? Fight. It doesn't always have to be pretty. Lots of soft wickets, and that's what it comes down to. It's a decision that you make.
It's sometimes ugly and terribly difficult to watch. If I played for my ego, I probably would have been a different player. It was always about how much character I could show out here today. It always felt like a threat to my character from the opposition. That's the way I decided to play the situation,” De Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
The current Pakistani team lacks "character," according to De Villiers, and players just aren't able to stand up when things get tough.
“I always felt that Test cricket was a test of your character. That's maybe what Pakistan is lacking at the moment. A bit of character, a bit of fight. An individual leadership group of four or five players who decide together, you know what, let's be the leaders here and show the guys. Let's be the example. Show the youngsters what it takes to win Test matches, ODIs, or T20S. Maybe that is the area they're lacking in,” said De Villiers.
AB de Villiers also highlighted how the instability in PCB management has contributed to the downfall of Pakistan cricket. PCB has changed Pakistan team coaches quite frequently in the last few years, with Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten opting to quit on their own after being reportedly sidelined by Aaqib Javed, leading the selection committee.
“Also, a bit of mismanagement from the top. Lots of chopping and changing. Lots of changes in leadership. Babar is back now. So hopefully he gets an extended run, stays fit, and starts scoring runs again like we all know he can. And for his fellow teammates to start following that lead. So that's my long and short on Pakistan cricket. Hopefully they'll make their way back to the form and to the team that we know they can be in all formats of the game,” De Villiers concluded.
The final test between England and Pakistan will be played in Edgbaston from September 9 onwards.
