Former Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf today said the batsmen on the current Sri Lankan tour are not technically sound and that was a major reason for their failure in the second Test. “There is nothing wrong with getting out. Kumar Sangakkara also got dismissed in this series but when he played he looked class. Unfortunately I can’t say the same about our batsmen [with] the way they batted in both innings of the Test,” Yousuf said.
“Our players played very badly against the Sri Lankan pace bowlers. Chameera was a bit fast and got a little movement and our batsmen were found wanting. Our batsmen generally have technical faults in their batting and that is why they are not so consistent,” Yousuf said. He said he couldn’t understand why there was insistence on playing Mohammad Hafeez as an opener when he didn’t have the required technique to be a good opening batsman.
“They still keep on including him in the team; I think that is because of his added ability to bowl. But now if he can’t bowl than I don’t see him in the team purely as a batsman,” Yousuf, one of Pakistan’s top Test batsman, said. Yousuf, a perfectionist in his playing days, said he was upset because it was a crime to play badly and get out.
He also lashed out at the captain Misbahul Haq for blaming the tail-enders and domestic cricket for the defeat. “You can’t expect the lower-order batsmen and tail-enders to rescue you all the time. They did it in the first Test, don’t expect them to do it all the time. The onus was on senior players like Younis and Misbah to play long and big innings.
Pakistan’s former test opener, Mohsin Khan said that Sri Lanka had shown itself to be a fighting outfit and very hard to beat on their home ground. “Our batting once again floundered and it is clear we need to look at where we went wrong. On the first day the decision to bat first backfired while in the second innings the collapse was unacceptable.
Pakistan’s former test captain, Rameez Raja also blamed poor batting for the defeat and noted even centurion Azhar Ali had thrown away his wicket after staying at the wicket for so long. “He should have tried to go on and bat with the lower order. But I think the inability of Wahab Riaz to bowl for most part of the match was a big setback to Pakistan’s chances of winning the Test and series,” he said.
