Pakistan had no game plan on how to bowl at Old Trafford: Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar lashed out at the Pakistan team after their defeat against England at Manchester. England beat Pakistan on Monday by a massive 330 runs to win the second Test and level the series 1-1.

Akhtar feels that there has been no planning from the Pakistan side and they were outplayed in all three departments of the game. “One saw no planning in the entire match from a Pakistani perspective and as expected our batting has been badly exposed by the England bowlers,”

“There was no game plan on how to bowl on the Old Trafford pitch and the line was just not right and the intent was missing throughout the England innings,” he added.

The 40-year-old admitted that the batting woes of the Pakistan team have been unmasked on a surface that had some bounce. “You can say our batting has been unmasked and exposed on a pitch which had bounce and nothing more. Our batting always struggles on surfaces with bounce that is why we toil in England and Australia.”

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Adaptability concerns:

Former Test captain Ramiz Raja expressed his concerns over the adaptability of the Pakistani players. “Our biggest problem is that our players just don’t adapt quickly enough to different conditions. And the problem of consistency remains as usual,” he said.

“England just came better prepared this time. At Lord’s the conditions suited Pakistan because of the low bounce. At Old Trafford they made sure there was plenty of bounce in the surface,” he added.

Pakistan team has a lot of potential: Rashid Latif

Former wicketkeeper-batsman, Rashid Latif said that Pakistan still has the potential to win the series as they have to sit down and start afresh. “Two matches remain and this Pakistan team has a lot of potentials. At Old Trafford the batting was horrible and there was no excuse for the poor show by our batters. They need to sit down and start afresh.”

He feels that the senior players of the Pakistan team have to step up for the big occasion in the likes of Mohammed Hafeez and Younis Khan. “For senior players like Hafeez and Younis to throw away their wickets after good starts are just not acceptable at this level,” he said.

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This is not the way to go down: Waqar Younis

Former Pakistan head coach and pace bowler Waqar Younis feels that they should have at least put up a fight in the second Test match. “I am not saying we should have won this Test but this is not the way to go down. The spineless batting would have given the England bowlers a lot of confidence now.”

Waqar also believes that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) really needs to do something quickly to deal with the issue of foreign teams not touring Pakistan. “Our cricket is suffering a lot because of no international cricket at home since last six years,” he said.

Batsmen should have put up a fight: Mohsin Khan

Former Test opener and head coach Mohsin Khan said Pakistan’s batting display was heartbreaking for the fans. “Our batsmen just couldn’t take the pressure in this Test. At this level, for a team ranked number three you expect quality batting performances. What we saw at Old Trafford was heartbreaking for cricket fans,” Mohsin said.

“But most of our batsmen carry a lot of experience and they should have put up a fight on a pitch which was not bad for batting at all,” he added.

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Hanif Muhammad’s advice for Younis Khan

Former batting legend Hanif Muhammad had some advice for the experienced Younis Khan regarding his batting technique. “At his age and time, he shouldn’t try to change his technique and that too on English pitches. He will find it hard to adjust himself,” Hanif said.