'It didn't feel as if Sri Lanka had left England' - Kamran Akmal slams Pakistan for poor show in first ODI

When a second-string England stepped on the park against Pakistan in the first ODI, not many would have expected them to demolish a full-strength Pakistan in a way they did. Saqib Mahmood exposed the vulnerabilities in the Pakistan batting and picked up four wickets to help England bundle out the visitors for 141. The target was then wiped out in 21.5 overs thanks to breezy half-centuries by Dawid Malan and Zak Crawley. The loss brought utmost humiliation to Pakistan.

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Meanwhile, former Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal is not amused by his team’s performance and compared them to Sri Lanka, who were recently trounced by England in the T20I and ODI series.

Also read: Sri Lanka announce 25-member squad for India series - Sky247 Blog

In a video on his Youtube channel, Akmal slammed Pakistan’s batting while hailing England for their efforts. England are without the services of their main players after COVID-19 wreaked havoc in their camp, infecting seven members of the contingent, including three players and forcing rest of the squad into isolation. ECB then named a completely new squad, that included nine uncapped players for the Pakistan series.

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"The way Pakistan played cricket, it didn't feel as if Sri Lanka had left England. It felt as if England was playing against Sri Lanka itself. England did something that Pakistan should have done, bowling the opposition out for 141. Ben Stokes' captaincy was outstanding," Kamran Akmal stated.

Pakistan defeated South Africa in their previous series and most of the players played in the Pakistan Super League. Playing a second-string England should have been easier, reckoned Akmal. The former wicketkeeper-batsman feels that the Pakistan team is over-dependent on Babar Azam. He further raised questions on Pakistan’s team selection.

"I don't understand which way our performance is heading. It should get better by the day but Pakistan had a fully confident team who had played PSL, beaten South Africa. Wins and losses are part and parcel but character needs to be shown now. Neither our cricket nor our selection process is right," Kamran Akmal concluded.

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