Team Pakistan in action© AFP
Team Pakistan became a laughing stock after they lost against Bangladesh in the first Test of the two-match series on Sunday in Rawalpindi. It was a dreamy day for the visitors, who registered their first-ever win against Pakistan in Test cricket. Before this match, both the teams had squared off in 13 Test games, where Pakistan won 12 while one ended in a draw. It was a brilliant outing from Bangladesh as their players gave outstanding performances with both bat and ball.
Shan Masood and co have been receiving a lot of backlash from the fans and many former cricketers for their poor team selection. The hosts opted for an all-pace attack and benched their premium spinner Abrar Ahmed.
Apart from this, Team Pakistan is also being criticised for declaring their first innings before reaching the 500-run mark. Former India opener Aakash Chopra also took a hilarious dig at Pakistan.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Chopra wrote, "Not many teams go to lose a Test match after declaring their first innings with 400+ runs and 4 wickets to spare. At Home. Pakistan cricket is a gift that keeps giving."
Not many teams go to lose a Test match after declaring their first innings with 400+ runs and 4 wickets to spare. At Home.
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) August 25, 2024
Pakistan cricket is a gift that keeps giving
Earlier, Shan said that the decision to declare the first innings on 448 for six was taken to push for a result.
"We wanted to go for a win in the match and thus felt we had enough runs on the board to declare. But the Bangladesh batters showed a lot of discipline and intent in their first innings. Mushfiq and Miraz batted really well," Shan said at the post-match press conference.
"We felt that with 448 runs we could get a crack at them in the fourth innings. We could have done with more runs but there were also things with the ball and in the field that we could've done better to either take a lead or keep them at par," he added.