The current situation in Bangladesh makes sport peripheral. A country reeling under ferment and submerged by a devastating flood had nothing to cheer about of late. From that perspective, Bangladesh’s first-ever Test win against Pakistan was a momentary upliftment for their cricket fans. But there’s obviously a bigger picture and Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto spoke about that after the victory.
“It’s a wonderful victory, but let’s not forget what’s happening back home,” Shanto told reporters, dedicating the win to those who gave their lives in the students’ movement. “It’s quite sad what’s happening in the country. I have seen that everyone is trying to help those in the flood-hit areas. All our players are trying their best to support them too.”
Habibul Bashar, initially a little hesitant to talk, chose to stick to cricket. “Every Test win should be celebrated,” the former Bangladesh captain told RevSportz. “We haven’t won many Tests away from home and this is our first Test win against Pakistan. So obviously, this is special.”
Across the Wagah border, a 10-wicket loss to Bangladesh on home patch has caused anger. For Pakistan, however, this is not a case in isolation. They haven’t won a home Test since February 2021 and lost five during this period.
“The players don’t have the mental fortitude to perform under pressure,” former Pakistan opener Shoaib Mohhamad observed, as he spoke to RevSportz. “I think the team was complacent to start with. They thought Bangladesh would be blown away against Pakistan’s pace attack. And when Bangladesh batters stood firm, the team, bereft of a specialist spinner, didn’t have a Plan B. The team management completely misread the Pindi pitch. But more than that, when put under pressure, batting crumbled. Some of the shots played on the final day were shocking.”
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Grapevine has it that the Pakistan team is suffering from a lack of unity in the dressing room. Some players are reportedly not seeing eye to eye. Shoaib refused to read too much into that. “Rift or no rift, when you are going out there in the middle as an individual, you are playing for your personal pride. The majority of the players don’t have the required skill-set to perform when the going gets tough. Yes, the system probably needs an overhaul, but the players need to own up.”
Pakistan cricket seems to be in free fall across formats. They lost to the United States at the T20 World Cup. The home Test defeat to Bangladesh was another low. Is there a dearth of talent?
“Talent is there, but the process to nurture young talents is virtually non-existent,” Asif Bajwa, Mohammad Amir’s coach who is also involved in coaching at the grassroots, told this website. “As for the players at the top level, they are seemingly more interested in playing in different T20 leagues rather than putting in a shift in red-ball cricket. There is favouritism in team selection. Player power is also an issue. For example, it’s clear that Shaheen Shah Afridi is not fit. But nobody seems to have the courage to drop him. A lot of issues have been plaguing Pakistan cricket.”
When a team consistently gets dominated on home turf, then it points towards a system failure. For Pakistan, the problem runs deeper than just a fourth innings batting implosion against Bangladesh spinners.
Also Read: Bangladesh create history, register first-ever Test win over Pakistan