Azhar Mahmood drops brutal truth about Pakistan's spin woes to stun cricket world

Pakistan cricket team’s woes have taken a shocking turn as their own support staff member, Azhar Mahmood, delivered a blunt assessment of their bowling attack after Bangladesh’s assault in the first Test against Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

In a surprising statement, Azhar Mahmood, Pakistan’s former pace all-rounder and current assistant coach, has openly admitted the startling truth that they cannot prepare spinning pitches because they simply don’t have spinners capable of taking 20 wickets in a Test match.

Azhar Mahmood admits Pakistan can’t prepare spinning pitches due to lack of quality spinners

In recent years, Pakistan has been prepared with pitches that favor fast bowlers during the Test series played at home. This trend has been followed because of the decline in the quality of spinners in Pakistan cricket. There was a time when Pakistan boasted world-class stars like Abdul Qadir, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed, and Saeed Ajmal.

However, the current Pakistan team lacks such high-caliber and game-changing spin bowlers, which has forced the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to rely heavily on fast-bowling-friendly pitches to make the most of their home advantage, which highlighted how they are in a dire situation.

Azhar Mahmood agrees with this strategy, raising serious concerns about the development and nurturing of spin talent in the country, which was once known for the tradition of producing world-class spinners.

The assistant coach also acknowledged that the team currently doesn't have spinners who can consistently take 20 wickets in a match, which is why they don't prepare spinning pitches.

We don't have the quality of spinners: Azhar Mahmood

This came as an excuse from Azhar Mahmood, as the behavior of the Rawalpindi surface took the Pakistan team by surprise in the ongoing first Test against Bangladesh. The former pacer revealed that Pakistan had prepared the sort of pitch to help seam bowling, but it was completely in contrast to their expectations.

Mahmood said during the media interaction after the end of the play of Day 4: “We cannot prepare spinning pitches in Pakistan because we don't have the quality of spinners to take 20 wickets in a match.”

Azhar Mahmood said "We cannot prepare spinning pitches in Pakistan because we don't have the quality of spinners to take 20 wickets in a match" 🇵🇰😭😭#PAKvBAN #tapmad #HojaoADFree pic.twitter.com/MlxwOW3v5f

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) August 24, 2024

The reason we didn't play a spinner was there was grass on the pitch: Mahmood

Meanwhile, Mahmood also revealed why Pakistan didn't use spinners on day three of the first Test match against Bangladesh. He said that there was grass on the pitch at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, and that’s why they opted against using the spinners against the Tigers.

During Bangladesh's first inning, Naseem Shah led the Pakistan bowling attack by taking three wickets, while Khurram Shahzad, Shaheen Afridi, and Mohammad Ali bagged two wickets each in their respective spells in the ongoing match in Rawalpindi.

Mahmood added, “The reason we didn't play a spinner was there was grass on the pitch, and we thought it would favor the seamers. We were hoping for that. But the three hours the pitch was sunny before the game started on the first day may have made a difference. The wicket dried out; we didn't think it would dry out so quickly, and that made it play differently.”