"What happened to cricket in Pakistan?" - Kevin Pietersen questions after drubbing in PAK vs BAN 2024 1st Test
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen questioned the trajectory of Pakistan men's cricket on Monday, August 26, suggesting that from his experience in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), he expected better than their 10-wicket defeat to Bangladesh in the recent Rawalpindi Test.
This was only the fourth time Pakistan lost a Test after declaring the first innings. Bangladesh, looking more adaptable to the flat conditions, took a 117-run lead in the second innings and then put up a bowling performance for the ages to shoot down the hosts for just 146 runs.
Bangladesh's openers chased the tiny target in less than seven overs to record a maiden Test win in Pakistan.
"What happened to cricket in Pakistan?" Pietersen said on X. "When I played the PSL, the standard of that league was tremendous, the players had a very good work ethic and the youngsters on display were magic. What’s happening there?"
Pietersen played three seasons in the PSL from 2016-2018, scoring 611 runs in 27 matches. Most of his local Pakistani teammates in Quetta Gladiators at the time have either retired, been left out because they were past their prime or moved out of the country due to a lack of opportunities.
"Their reputation has become like that" - Ramiz Raja on Pakistan's issues
Earlier in the day former Pakistani captain Ramiz Raja summarised the issues of the team, attributing the repeated Day 5 defeats to an inability to manage pressure.
"If any team can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, it's the Pakistan team, and their reputation has become like that. This has not happened for the first time that Pakistan have floundered on the fifth day of Test cricket. Sometimes batting is a flop show and they bowl badly on other occasions," he said in a video on his YouTube channel (0:01).
"It becomes an odd story whenever pressure mounts on this team. I feel it's a serious problem. Your belief system goes off as soon as pressure mounts on you, especially on the bowlers, as they start bowling bad spells. The batters don't have the ability at all as it becomes a flop show whenever there is slight sideways movement," Ramiz added.
The second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh begins on August 30 at the same venue.