Pakistan cricket team resumed playing international cricket for the first time since the T20 World Cup debacle and in the first game itself, they lost to Bangladesh at home in Rawalpindi. It was their first-ever loss in 14 Tests against Bangladesh and that has led to many criticising the team led by Shan Masood.
Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen has raised serious questions about the Pakistan team. He recalled the time when he used to play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) stating that the youngsters had a really good work ethic then. Pietersen seems to be surprised and disappointed with Pakistan's performance over the last year or so.
They were knocked out of the ODI World Cup in the league stage, they lost to the USA and were knocked out of the T20 World Cup in the group stage and have now gone down to Bangladesh for the first time in Tests. "What happened to cricket in Pakistan? 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's tweet on X (formerly Twitter) read.
For the unversed, Pakistan lost by 10 wickets for the first time at home in Tests and it happened after they dominated for the major part of the Test match. After losing the toss, despite being 16/3 at one stage, they managed to post a mammoth total of 448 runs for the loss of six wickets before declaring the innings.
But Pakistan's famed bowling attack led by Shaheen Afridi couldn't strike regularly conceding 565 runs to Bangladesh as the visitors took a 117-run lead. With just over a day's play left and the pitch looking flat, the match seemed to be heading towards a tame draw. But Pakistan collapsed on the final day courtesy of Bangladesh spinners and were bundled out for just 146 runs. The visitors chased down the 30-run target with 10 wickets in hand to register a famous win.
