KARACHI: Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali strongly criticized Pakistan’s poor bowling and fielding towards New Zealand within the inaugural match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Centuries from Will Younger and Tom Latham helped New Zealand set a 321-run goal towards Pakistan at Nationwide Financial institution Stadium in Karachi.
Talking on ARY Information’ particular transmission of the Champions Trophy, Basit Ali praised New Zealand’s batting, noting that the black caps divided their innings into two phases—30 overs and 50 overs—and performed the ultimate 20 overs like a T20 match.
He criticized Pakistan’s fielding, stating that gamers’ physique language and method recommended that they had already accepted the 300-plus goal, which he thought of a poor mindset for such an vital match.
Learn Extra: Younger, Latham energy New Zealand to 320 towards Pakistan
Ali was of the view that throughout the sport, Pakistani bowlers appeared extra centered on saving themselves from getting hit for boundaries, and as a substitute gave away too many singles, relatively than attempting to dismiss the New Zealand batters.
The previous cricketer emphasised that it’s the coach’s duty to handle such defensive methods.
He defined, “When a batter is allowed to attain singles, it emboldens him.”
Basit Ali urged the bowlers to undertake a method that forestalls batters from taking simple singles, thus forcing them into early, dangerous photographs and errors.
Sadly, he identified that some Pakistani bowlers failed to do that, partly as a result of they don’t seem to be common bowlers.
Basit additionally expressed dissatisfaction with the present crop of Pakistani all-rounders, declaring that previously gamers like Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, and Shoaib Malik, who have been initially robust batsmen earlier than changing into bowlers, excelled as a result of they understood a batter’s psychology.
In distinction, present all-rounders like Khushdil Shah would solely bowl in accordance with batter’s psychology if that they had a strong grounding in batting, which Basit believes is missing.