Pakistan’s long string of defeats against India has left a bitter taste in the mouths of many former greats across the border. India’s 61-run win on Sunday It was their fourth successive win over Pakistan, dating back to September 2022; In fact, since 2017, Pakistan have beaten India just three times – the Champions Trophy final, the 2021 T20 World Cup, and once during the 2022 Asia Cup. Other than that, it has been one-way traffic, as the rivalry, once known as the ‘Mother of All Battles’, has taken a nosedive.
The sharp decline in Pakistan’s performance can be attributed to several factors, including the politicization of the PCB and the treatment of coaches. However, the most harmful reason, as Muhammad Youssef It is this arrogance that crept into this unit after their win over India in Dubai in 2021, Yousuf pointed out. In a T20 World Cup 2021 league match, Pakistan thrashed India by 10 wickets to record their first win over the Men in Blue in a World Cup across formats, and that, Yousuf insists, is where the unraveling began.
“Fortunately, or unfortunately, in the match we won by 10 wickets against India, we started to believe that there was no one better than us. Everyone became disrespectful. When the coach was talking, someone was either looking at his phone or staring somewhere else. It all started after that match. It is never a good thing for any player. You have to be suspended, which is what we saw with Inzamam bhai and Saeed bhai… They were senior players. However, they always listened to what you have to say,” said Yousuf, captain. Pakistan, on the radio show “How It Works”, the coaches had to say this.
Yousef hit the target with his claim, as less than 24 hours earlier, Shadab Khan had made statements that seemed to validate Yousef’s sentiments. After several former Pakistan greats criticized the current team under Salman Agha, questioning their style of cricket and their inability to beat India, Shadab responded with a statement reflecting the same traits that Yousuf accused the team of displaying.
“Our former cricketers have their own opinions. They performed well for Pakistan and, ultimately, they never beat India in the World Cup. We are the ones who beat India in the 2021 World Cup. In the World Cup, we beat India only once. Yes, they are legends, but they never did anything great against India in the World Cup,” Shadab said.
Yusuf wanted to overthrow Babar, but…
Youssef, who briefly served as the national team’s batting coach, spoke Babar AzamDecline in shape. Once a rising star in international cricket, Babar’s career has largely dried up. The former Pakistan captain made a century against Sri Lanka in an ODI in November, but it came after 807 days. Since then, he has hinted at him running again. Youssef revealed his desire to dispense with Babar based on his level, but after facing criticism from decision-makers, he resigned from his position after only three months.
“Babar Azam’s game has deteriorated. No player can be out of form for three years. I have been saying this for a long time, but people kept asking: ‘How can anyone abandon Babar?’ So I felt it was better to quit. What happened to him today is because of the same people who doubted me,” the 51-year-old added.
