Former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar says Pakistan cricket not headed in right direction

Former fast-bowler Shoaib Akhtar, now known for his analysis and comments on the cricket team's performance, has said that he is unhappy with with the national squad despite the emphatic win over England’s full-strength side in the first Twenty20 international at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

Akhtar, who went all guns blazing after the team and the management following a humiliating defeat in the ODI series, said he was not satisfied with the national team’s comeback win either.

The former speed star stated that the cricket team is not headed in the right direction even if they "register T20 wins here and there". He believed that collective focus should shift to the longer formats of the game.

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“If Pakistan wins the World Cup this year, then it should not surprise anyone. But even if they manage to win the World Cup, are they going in the right direction? No, they aren't. T20 is not our aim and it shouldn't be our aim as well,” Akhtar said on his YouTube channel.

Akhtar noted that the only difference in Pakistan’s performance from the third ODI and the first T20 was the attitude. He said that the abundance of T20 cricket has affected Pakistan’s temperament.

“The problem with Pakistan is that they cannot play 50 overs. They have the talent but they simply can't play 50 overs. [They] can't rotate the strike.”

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Akhtar maintained that Pakistan are a much stronger opponent in the shortest format.

“When it comes to T20, England must realise that Pakistan is a great T20 team. No one is better than Pakistan, not India, not Afghanistan,” he said.

“England's team is underestimating Pakistan team and perhaps they do not understand that Pakistan's T20 team is one of the best in the world.”

The two sides are set to meet in the second T20 of the three-match series in Leeds on Sunday.