‘Pakistan has become a Tier 2 team’ — Bazid Khan says team lacks skills to compete with world’s best sides like India

Devansh Poddar

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‘Pakistan has become a Tier 2 team’ — Bazid Khan says team lacks skills to compete with world’s best sides like India image

Former Pakistani cricketer Bazid Khan has opened up on the current state of the Pakistan Cricket team. Bazid made a bold statement as he called the side a 2nd tier team when it comes to elite cricket.

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Pakistan has been one of the most underperforming sides in the world over the last few years, largely struggling to win against top sides such as India, Australia, England, and New Zealand. 

Pakistan is a second-tier team, says Bazid Ali

After their T20 World Cup Final appearance in 2022, the Men in Green have arguably been one of the most disappointing sides in world cricket.

Since the 2022 World Cup finals, the side has lost nine out of their 16 bilateral series across formats, while winning only against lower-ranked teams, such as Bangladesh, the West Indies, and the Netherlands. 

The team has been thoroughly inconsistent, and poor performances from some of their top players, such as Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, have severely impacted their results.

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In the last two years, Babar hasn't scored a single century across formats, while his batting average has dropped to 30 in ODIs and 25 in T20Is.

Rizwan, on the other hand, has struggled to adapt to modern-day batting as his strike rate has been a major concern, especially in the T20 format, where he scores at a strike rate of just 117.

Speaking on a local sports show, Bazid admitted that Pakistan is no longer considered an elite team.

"Whether Tests, ODIs, or T20Is, everyone knows Pakistan is struggling in elite cricket...Pakistan has become a 2nd tier team; we know that. Obviously, whoever becomes a coach doesn't accept the fact, but we are definitely not on that level," said Bazid.

The former cricketer also highlighted the side's inability to adapt to modern-day cricketing standards and the lack of tools to play an aggressive brand of cricket. 

"You talk about playing aggressive cricket, you talk about strike rate...but you don't have the tools," added Bazid

While sides like India, Australia, England, and others have adapted well and evolved with superior strike rates, Pakistan continues to rely on outdated methods.

Pakistan is currently facing South Africa in a 3-match T20I series and has lost the first game by 55 runs. The second game will take place on Friday, October 31, at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

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