Seeing the PCB make 7 changes in the squad and sack two coaches in the middle of the series, a plethora of questions have emerged in Karthik’s mind, be it in terms of the players they have, the basis of selection, or even the way cricket is being run in the country. As the Babar Azam-led side returns home with a 0-3 series loss in England, Karthik had no qualms in suggesting that Pakistan are doing a ‘disservice to Test cricket’. The entire cricket world is wondering how far Pakistan cricket has fallen. Dinesh Karthik, a cricketer-turned-pundit, admits being both shocked and saddened by the decline of Pakistan’s cricketing standards.
In the first two Test matches, they didn’t even play 90 overs across two innings. It wasn’t easy, but it definitely wasn’t a pitch where you could not play 90 overs across both innings. Because they made 7 changes [in the squad after the second Test] and made changes to the support staff [sacked Test head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul after going down 2-0 in the series], i quite agree with him.
I think what they’re doing is a disservice to Test cricket, like what Nasser Hussain said. In the last match, they competed,” he said on Sky Sports. “When I did the England vs Pakistan Test series, man, this Pakistan team is very ordinary. The wickets were spicy. I don’t think that’s good enough. “Somebody like Razaullah, who actually did well in the Test match [the final one], why was he not there from the start? What is happening with the selection process? What kind of players they’re having? The change in captaincy, the change in coaches, everything looks unsettled, and the performances are quite showing it. They didn’t play [well] against England, it didn’t feel like they could compete genuinely, and if I’m being honest, I don’t think they can compete against a lot of Test nations at this point, which is sad.
