Former cricketers have expressed disappointment on Pakistan's loss to India in the Champions Trophy game and blamed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and selection committee for not doing their work properly and picking incapable players. Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar said the Green-shirts were totally exposed by the arch-rivals in Sunday's match.
"We would not have felt disappointed, had Pakistan lost the match after fighting or even coming close to the target," he said, adding: "We played a lot in Dubai and Sharjah which is also a reason for our poor batting as our batsmen fail in other foreign countries." He was of the view that pacer Junaid Khan should have been preferred over Wahab Riaz as the latter has not given any mentionable performance for a long time. Further, Kamran Akmal should have been selected in the squad," he said.
He also blamed Coach Mickey Arthur for the team's loss, saying Pakistan's cricket would now no more grow in his presence. Former cricketer Sikander Bakht said it was astonishing to hear Mickey saying that he didn't know where Pakistan stands in world cricket. Former skipper Muhammad Yousaf said there was time when Pakistani used to fight and lose not like the current team. Time is ripe to take bold decisions to save cricket from collapse, he said.