Pakistan Cricket Team: Uruj Mumtaz, the former women’s cricketer of the country, directly pointed the finger at Babar Azam regarding the pace bowling crisis in Pakistan cricket. He alleged that Babar, as Pakistan’s captain, wanted a flat pitch for the benefit of the batsmen. And because of that policy, the talented fast bowlers of the country are gradually falling behind, he claimed. The comments sparked fresh controversy after Pakistan were bowled out for just 171 runs in Babar’s absence in the first match of the series against England.
Serious complaints about Pakistan’s pace bowling
Several legendary fast bowlers have emerged in the history of Pakistan cricket. Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis to Shoaib Akhtar—they have created a distinct identity in world cricket with their devastating bowling. But currently Pakistan’s pace attack is not as sharp as it used to be. Uruj Mumtaz blamed the country’s cricket system as well as the pitch policy during Babar’s captaincy behind this change.
‘Babar wanted flat track for batters’
Uruj Mumtaz on Sky Sports said that Pakistan have gradually moved away from pace bowlers while thinking about the advantages of batsmen. He alleged that Babar Azam as captain wanted a flat wicket where the batsmen had more advantage. He claimed that even in first-class cricket, grass has been removed from the pitch.
Barriers to the progress of Pacers?
According to Uruj, domestic cricket requires a suitable environment to enhance the skills of fast bowlers. But if the necessary support for the pacers is removed from the pitch, it becomes difficult to develop new talent. According to him, in first-class cricket, many batsmen have had the opportunity to score runs without facing tough tests, while the pacers have not been challenged to improve themselves.
‘This is how I started losing pace bowlers’
According to the former Pakistani women cricketer, this pitching policy is why Pakistan is slowly losing the new generation of effective fast bowlers. He claims that if there is no minimum support for pacers in domestic cricket, it is difficult to produce quality bowlers for international cricket. That is why there are questions about Pakistan’s current pace bowling strength, said Uruj.
Batting failure against England
Meanwhile, in the first match of the series against England, Pakistan’s batting collapsed completely. In the first innings, Pakistan were bowled out for just 171 runs in 48.1 overs. Abdullah Shafiq scored maximum 61 runs for the team. His innings of 104 balls shows a bit of fight in the midst of Pakistan’s batting collapse.
No one could stand after the Imam
On the other hand, Imam-ul-Haq scored 42 runs off 74 balls. But apart from these two batsmen, Pakistan were quickly all out as no one could score big runs. Josh Tong and Ollie Robinson took five wickets each for England and dealt a big blow to Pakistan’s batting line-up. Despite Babar Azam not playing in the match due to injury, the debate over Pakistan’s pitch preparation and pace bowling future has intensified following Uruj Mumtaz’s comments.