After Pakistan were completely decimated by the Bangladesh in the first ODI, their former pacer Mohammad Amir has strongly criticized the national cricket team for their poor performance.
Pakistan were bowled out for a mere 114 in 30 overs and the Bangla tigers chased the target in 27 overs, winning the match by 8 wickets. The loss piles more pressure on the Pakistan team who are already under fire following a failed outing at the recent T20 World Cup, from which they were knocked out at the semi-final stage.
The Men in Green are now looking forward to the 2027 ODI World Cup to be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The management picked some of the new young talents of the country, and gave them a chance in the Bangladesh ODI series as part of the long-term process.
The young players could not give their team a good start. Debutants Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat and Shamyl Hussain flopped at the match.
The former left-arm pacer expressed his disappointment at the loss and said it is really a serious matter for Pakistan cricket if the results continue to be same.
Amir said on Facebook after the match.
“We are now starting to lose to Bangladesh. I’m worried we might even become an associate-level team."
Pakistan vs Bangladesh: Amir Questions Team Selection
Amir also addressed the issue regarding the exclusion of the senior players from the squad. Amongst the high profile exclusions from the team was the ex-Pakistan captain Babar Azam who has arguably been Pakistan's most consistent ODI batter.
The former pacer believes that Completely dropping the senior players from the squad might not prove beneficial for the team.
He stated:
“You can’t just drop senior players and play only youngsters. There needs to be guidance and experience in the team."
According to Amir, senior players have an important role to play in a team as they help young players to learn, and at the same time help them to handle the pressure of playing in international matches.
He also pointed out that there is technical issue in young players' batting which, in his opinion, leads to their trouble with the balls going on the off side as the young batters are usually only capable of playing on the leg side of the ball.
Amir claimed:
“It’s common now for young players to only play towards mid-wicket. When the ball is on the off-stump, they don’t know how to deal with it."
Talking about one of the dismissals in the match, he added:
“Shamyl [Hussain] was caught while trying to play a mid-wicket shot. Young players need to understand that runs can also be scored on the off side or over mid-off.”
The former pacer also compared the performance of both teams at the match.
He said:
“Our bowling was disappointing. On the same wicket where we struggled, Bangladesh chased the target very quickly."
The crushing defeat in the ODI series-opener has raised further concerns over the balance and approach of the Pakistan team as they build up to the 2027 ODI World Cup.