"Whatever is forbidden in our religion, all those things happen here" - Basit Ali on Pakistan cricket's downfall
Former Pakistani batter Basit Ali believes that 'back-biting' is the primary reason behind the downfall of Pakistan cricket. The Men in Green have been under the scanner following a string of poor performances.
Pakistan suffered a first-ever 2-0 Test series whitewash to Bangladesh in August. The Shan Masood-led side failed to make amends in the first Test of their ongoing three-match home Test series against England. The hosts lost by an innings and 47 runs despite registering a 556-run total in the first innings.
Speaking about the team's horrific run, Basit suggested that the things which are forbidden in Islam have been quite rampant in Pakistani cricket.
Speaking in a video shared on his YouTube channel, the cricketer-turned-expert opined that a good human being doesn't even want to be associated with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) because of the constant lies and back-biting.
Basit said:
"What is the reason behind the downfall of Pakistan's cricket? Whatever is forbidden in our religion, all those things happen here. Back-biting happens openly here. The ones back-biting are being appointed as coaches in domestic cricket and managers. Nobody is picked on merit and in fact, a good person doesn't even want to be part of the PCB now."
Pakistan's Test skipper Shan Masood is off to a dismal start to his captaincy stint, suffering six successive defeats now.
England declared at 823/7 in their first innings, the fourth-highest total in the history of Test cricket. The visitors bundled out the home team for 220 in the subsequent essay to clinch a comprehensive victory.
"You lie after being an Australian, have some shame" - Basit Ali on Pakistan's high-performance coach Tim Nielsen
In the aforementioned video, Basit Ali also took a dig at Pakistan's high-performance coach Tim Nielsen. Speaking in a press conference after Day 4, Nielsen was asked about Babar Azam's form slump in Test cricket.
He mentioned that Babar is one of the best players but was going through a tough phase. Basit slammed Nielsen for his comments, claiming that the Australian coach was just making a fool of the Pakistani public.
The ex-cricketer said (from 1:37):
"During his press conference, he said Babar Azam is the world's number one batter. You lie after being an Australian, have some shame. If I ask him who is better between Babar Azam and Steve Smith, he would pick Smith. This is the mentality of these people. They have come to Pakistan and got adjusted to Pakistan's environment. They just want to fool our people."
Babar Azam registered scores of 30 and five in the Test series opener against England. The right-handed batter has not crossed the 50-run mark in his last 18 innings in Test cricket.