Pakistan’s humiliating loss against the West Indies by 106 runs in the second Test of the three-match Test series didn’t sit well in the county, as former Test batsman Basit Ali is enraged by Misbah-Ul-Haq-led side over their dismal show both with the bat and a ball in Bridgetown, Barbados, after fast bowler Shannon Gabriel wreaked havoc through the batting line-up of visitors, as they were skittled for mere 81 in 34.4 overs.
“Pakistan were too slow, with both bat and ball, and never really put the West Indian side under the cosh, especially with the bat in the first innings. If wickets are falling then yes you need to consolidate but at least you can rotate the strike when doing so,” Ali was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune.
Considering the fact there were few positives following the performance of leg-spinner Yasir Shah with the ball, Ali stated that it was sad to see Pakistan going down like this against the West Indies side which isn’t threatening, as compared to the one in past.
“Yasir was bowling well right from the start but was unable to take wickets at the start,” Ali said.
The 46-year-old Ali remarked that he want to see more effort from the bowlers before batsmen failed to live up to their expectations.
“However, it is concerning that our bowlers need to wait for the conditions to become favourable before they are able to take wickets. The same issue is faced by our batsmen, who are unable to score big when they play in unfamiliar conditions,” Ali asserted.
Ali stated, Yasir Shah was not able to pick wickets at the initial stage. However, the 31-year-old spinner picked up nine wickets in the second Test which includes the figures of seven for 94 in 39.5 overs.
The 46-year-old Ali feels the team is struggling due to the bowlers, who have failed to hit the right patches, over and over again.
“The pitch was conducive for pace bowling as the ball stayed slow. Both of Pakistan’s pacers, Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Amir, bowled well but did not show the required consistency to trouble the batsmen regularly,” Ali further added.
Basit Ali, who has been national women’s team coach in the past, revealed the side lacks practice on good pitches. While taking a dig at the current performance, Ali stated the side can’t be blamed alone, as the pitches are not up to the standard in Pakistan.
“The pitches in Pakistan are not up to the required standards, so the players always have difficulty adapting since they cannot get enough practice back home,” Ali concluded.
Karachi-born Ali had played 50 One-day Internationals and 19 Tests for Pakistan. He scored 1265 runs in 43 ODIs innings and 858 runs in 33 Test innings in the span of three years between 1993 and 1996.