"It was a third-class performance" - Basit Ali slams Pakistan for 2024 home Test series defeat to Bangladesh
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali blasted the side for their 2-0 Test series loss at home against Bangladesh. He also criticized Shan Masood for his captaincy during Bangladesh's first innings in the second Test in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan were under immense pressure heading into the second match after losing their first-ever Test to Bangladesh (by 10 wickets) in the series opener. Yet, they responded in style in the first half of the second Test, scoring 274 and reducing Bangladesh to 26/6.
However, the visitors remained unflustered and recovered to post a solid 262 in their first essay. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali said the game and the series slipped away when Shan Masood and his men allowed Bangladesh's final four wickets to add 236 runs after their disastrous start.
"It was a third-class performance. Pakistan lost the Test match due to captaincy. Captaincy played a key role in the way Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan performed after 26/6," Basit said. [8:52]
While Litton Das scored a brilliant 138, Mehidy Hasan added 78, as the duo stitched a 165-run partnership for the seventh wicket to resurrect Bangladesh's innings.
It went downhill for Pakistan from then, as they were bundled out for a paltry 172 in their second innings, enabling Bangladesh to chase 185 with six wickets in hand.
"There is no need for surgery" - Basit Ali reacts to PCB chairman's earlier remarks
Basit Ali took a sarcastic dig at PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi for Pakistan's turnaround after the dismal 2024 T20 World Cup.
For the uninitiated, after Pakistan's 2024 T20 World Cup group-stage exit, Naqvi said (via Sportstar):
"I thought the team required minor surgery to start winning matches but now it appears that we have to go for major surgery. It is very disappointing the way we lost to the USA and now this loss to India. We need to now start looking at players beyond those in the team right now."
The side has endured a torrid time across formats over the past year, with forgettable campaigns in the 2023 ODI and 2024 T20 World Cups and five consecutive Test losses.
"There is no need for surgery. The Pakistan team has done the surgery on themselves. Mohsin Naqvi should think about this. In the past six months, Pakistan has lost two big events," Basit said in his YouTube video [9:12].
The Bangladesh series setback has left Pakistan second-to-bottom on the World Test Championship (WTC) table, with their qualification for the final effectively out of question.
Their next assignment is a three-Test series at home against England, starting October 7.