File Pic: Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha, left, with Shaheen Shah Afridi (AP Photo) Pakistan’s problems deepened on Sunday after a 2-1 ODI series defeat by Bangladesh drew sharp criticism from former wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, who questioned the state of cricket in the country with a scathing remark: “If you don’t beat teams in matches, are you going to steal ICC trophies now and bring them home?Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!The blast came after Bangladesh defeated Pakistan by 11 runs in the third and final ODI at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka to seal the series. The defeat will compound Pakistan’s woes following their disappointing early exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.Bangladesh posted 290 for five after being asked to bat, powered by a brilliant century from Tanzid Hasan. The opener made a fluent 107 off 98 balls, hitting six fours and seven sixes, and shared a 105-run stand with Saif Hassan, who made 36. Later contributions from Litton Das (41) and Towhid Hridoy (48) ensured the hosts set a challenging target.Pakistan’s bowling effort was led by Haris Rauf who claimed three wickets while skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi and spinner Abrar Ahmed claimed one each.Chasing 291, Pakistan were rattled early and slumped to 82 for five before Salman Ali Agha mounted a spirited counter-attack. Agha smashed 106 off 98 balls to keep Pakistan in the hunt, but his dismissal in the 48th over proved decisive as the visitors were bowled out for 279 off the last delivery.Taskin Ahmed bowled for Bangladesh and took four wickets while Mustafizur Rahman chipped in with three.In response to the defeat on the TV show, Akmal launched a blistering attack on Pakistan’s cricket administration and decision-making.“The condition is that now even Netherlands would like to play a series against us, beat us and get Test status. That is the condition of Pakistan cricket now,” Akmal said.He also questioned Pakistan’s tactical choices. “It was a good pitch. Why did you choose to bowl first? They could have easily scored 350 today. Litton Das bowled slowly at the end and still got 290, still we lost.”Akmal also took a swipe at Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi when he pointed out the controversy surrounding the presentation of the 2025 Asia Cup trophy.“My goodness, think about Pakistan cricket. You have made a joke out of it. If you don’t win series against teams, how will you progress? If you don’t beat teams in matches, are you now going to steal ICC trophies and bring them home?”
