Salman Butt tears apart Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah after Pakistan's horror show vs Bangladesh

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has criticized the national cricket team’s pacers following their defeat against Bangladesh in the first Test match.

Salman Butt highlighted that Pakistan’s pacers showed poor fitness and lower speeds compared to their Bangladeshi counterparts.

Pakistan opted for four frontline seamers and left their main spinner, Abrar Ahmed, out of the series opener.

The decision backfired for the hosts as the pace bowlers failed to make a major impact. Bangladesh scored 565 runs in the first innings and took a formidable 117-run lead.

They Looked More Fit Than Us - Salman Butt

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Salman Butt said that the Bangladeshi pacers were faster and more effective than the Pakistani bowlers.

Butt criticized Pakistan's decision to field four fast bowlers and highlighted numerous mistakes made by the team.

"Where should I start? Playing four fast bowlers, the declaration, the line and length, everything went wrong. I think this is the first time that the average speed of Bangladesh bowlers was higher than ours," Butt said.

"They looked more fit than us. Our junior fast bowlers did better than our senior ones. So, there is a list of mistakes made by the team. Where should we start? Who should we pick and blame because the list goes on," he added.

The home team missed the opportunity to put Bangladesh under pressure during the first innings. Skipper Shan Masood declared their innings at 448/6 with a well-set Mohammad Rizwan (171 runs) at the crease. Their decision to bowl against Bangladesh on Day 2 didn't work out as planned.

Pitch Was Not The Issue - Salman Butt

The former Pakistan skipper stated that the Rawalpindi pitch wasn't the real issue in Pakistan’s defeat. He added that Bangladesh’s bowlers dismissed Pakistan for just 146 in the second innings. Butt said that Bangladesh’s pacers made early breakthroughs and their spinners took over effectively.

"Pitch was not the issue. The quality of bowling was. Our bowling coach said that the pitch didn't turn out the way we wanted. Bowlers also said that the pitch was not good," Butt further stated.

"How does that make sense? especially when Pakistan got bowled out inside two sessions. Their pacers got the wickets of our top-order batters before the spinners took the responsibility in the middle. So, this is a long list of mismanagement and incompetence," he concluded.

Pakistan was dismissed for just 146 in their second innings. Mohammad Rizwan was the lone performer for Pakistan in the second innings, scoring 51 runs but not receiving support from the other batters. Bangladesh easily chased down the target of 30 runs without losing a wicket on Day 5.

It was Pakistan's first Test loss to Bangladesh. The Pakistan cricket team had previously won 12 of their 13 matches against Bangladesh in red-ball cricket, with one draw. The second and final Test match between Bangladesh and Pakistan is scheduled to commence in Rawalpindi on August 30.

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