Dinesh Karthik opens a pandora box on Babar Azam's future in Pakistan cricket

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has opened up about Pakistan batter Babar Azam's struggles after the first Test match against Bangladesh.

Dinesh Karthik praised Azam for his exceptional batting skills but noted that the star batter is under a lot of pressure as a captain.

Babar Azam and Pakistan on the wrong side of results

Babar had a tough time in the first Test against Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. He was out for a duck in the first innings of the series opener.

Babar missed a second duck as he was saved by a dropped catch. However, he only managed to score 22 runs in the second innings.

The Pakistan team suffered a shocking 10-wicket defeat to Bangladesh in the first Test of the ongoing two-match series.

Notably, it was Pakistan's first Test loss against Bangladesh. The home team can't secure the series victory but will be hoping to level the series and secure ICC WTC points.

Nobody Can Doubt Babar Azam's Quality - Dinesh Karthik

On Cricbuzz's "Hey CB with DK," Dinesh Karthik was asked about Babar Azam's struggles with the bat in recent times. The former Indian cricketer described Babar as an outstanding player but added that he's under a lot of pressure.

"Babar Azam as a player, nobody can doubt his quality. He's got outstanding batting potential, though I feel he's under a lot of pressure," Karthik said.

The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer criticized Pakistan's decision to declare early in the first innings of the Test against Bangladesh. Karthik said that teams should aim to score big and bat long in the first innings to put pressure on the opposition.

"That's something that they need to rethink about. Pakistan now in that test match against Bangladesh, I thought they declared a touch too early in the first inning. In Asia, it's about batting big and batting long in the first inning," he added.

#BabarAzam's struggles continue 😶‍🌫#Pakistan's stunning defeat to #Bangladesh 🇵🇰💥

What's causing the downfall of #SriLanka and #Pakistan? 🤔@DineshKarthik breaks it down, on #HeyCB! 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/eU3k7XHOnh

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) August 30, 2024

That Has Been A Challenge For Sri Lanka And Pakistan - Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik highlighted that the downfall of Sri Lanka and Pakistan can be attributed to several factors. He emphasized that both teams have faced financial struggles, which have impacted their infrastructure and domestic cricket quality.

"Number one, you need a very strong domestic structure for you to do well in international cricket. That has been a challenge for both these teams over the years.

Financially, they've had their struggles, and hence it reflects in the infrastructure development, and in turn, it reflects in their domestic cricket. And hence, they've not been able to produce the quality of cricketers they have produced over the years.

"It's a very big cycle how you get your finances, how you use them for cricket, and in turn, how you make sure that domestic cricket is held, and that will definitely feed into your international cricket."

Sri Lanka is currently playing a three-match Test series against England. The visiting team lost the first Test match by five wickets at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester.

They were bowled out for just 196 runs in the first innings of the second Test match, which is underway at Lord's in London.

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