Pakistan’s troubles deepened further on Sunday after losing 2-1 in the ODI series to Bangladesh, prompting a fiery criticism from former wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, who lambasted the state of cricket in the country: “If you don’t beat teams in games, will you now steal the International Cricket Federation trophies and take them home?”Push boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!The outburst came after Bangladesh sealed the series by beating Pakistan by 11 runs in the third and final ODI at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. The defeat deepened Pakistan’s woes after a disappointing early exit from the International ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.Bangladesh, after being asked to bat, posted 290 for five with the help of Tanzid Hasan’s brilliant hundred. In the first match, he scored a smooth 107 off 98 balls, hitting 6 fours and 7 sixes and sharing 105 with Saif Hassan, who hit 36 runs. Subsequent contributions from Litton Das (41) and Towhid Hridoy (48) ensured that the home team set a challenging target.Pakistan was led by bowler Haris Rauf who took three wickets, while captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and spinner Abrar Ahmed took one each.Chasing 291, Pakistan suffered an early shock and fell to 82 in five innings before Salman Ali Agha launched a fierce counterattack. Aga’s knock of 106 off 98 balls kept Pakistan in the lead but his dismissal in the 48th over proved decisive as the visitors were bowled out for 279 off the last ball.Taskin Ahmed took four wickets for Bangladesh, while Mustafizur Rahman took three wickets.Reacting to the failure on television, Akmal launched a blistering attack on the management and decision-making of Pakistan cricket.“The situation now is that even the Netherlands want to play a series against us, beat us and qualify for the Test. This is the situation now in Pakistan cricket,” Akmal said.He also questioned Pakistan’s tactical choices. “It was a good ball. Why did you choose to bowl first? They could have easily got 350 today. Liton Das batted slow at the end and they still got 290 but we lost.”Akmal also hit out at Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi, referring to the controversy surrounding the presentation of the 2025 Asia Cup trophy.“For God’s sake, think of Pakistan cricket. You laugh at it. How will you progress when you don’t win the series against the team? If you don’t beat the team in the tournament, will you now steal the International Cricket Federation trophies and take them home?”
