Pakistan’s record in Test cricket in recent times has been underwhelming, to say the least. The Pakistan team went the entire 2022 without a Test win, and also ended the year with a 3-0 drubbing in the hands of England at home. The struggle to get a favourable result during the period has been mostly to do with having to play on flat tracks at home.
New Zealand commentator Simon Doull took a cheeky dig at Pakistan captain Babar Azam for the pitch in use at the National Stadium in Karachi for the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) match between Pakistan and New Zealand.
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#PakvsNZ #babarazam🐼 pic.twitter.com/JqZzddEZLm
— 72 …. (@VK_254) January 5, 2023
“Where do these directives come from? Do they come from Babar Azam? Does he want to play on these roads to improve his own stats, The people above, the hierarchy, have just got to leave their noses out of it. It offers nothing. There is no grass on it. There is no seam movement, and there is no carry,” Doull said.
No help for the bowlers in Karachi Test
The issue with the pitch has been the main focus of the New Zealand tour as well, where the batting side have put in a dominating show, something that has kept the home side at bay. After the draw in the first Karachi Test, the second game also looks to be going along the same lines, with the pitch behaving like a road on Day 4. Doull also mentioned about the pacer Mir Hamza who got an opportunity to play against New Zealand after his outstanding first-class record.
“You are picking a guy like Mir Hamza who has a terrific first-class record. You pick guys who perform well at that level, but they come and bowl on this road. You can’t expect them to do the same job that they’re doing at the first-class level if you’re going to produce these types of surfaces.” He said.
This has frustrated the home fans as well as the spectators of the game, where bowlers have received little to no help. The team has lost back-to-back series in the World Test Championship calendar at the hands of Australia and England and are not struggling to win their series against Tim Southee’s New Zealand.
