Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has provided insightful comments on Pakistan’s white-ball skipper Babar Azam’s recent troubles, especially after the first Test match against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi.
Karthik discussed Azam’s struggles, the tactical choices made during the game, and the larger problems affecting cricket in Pakistan and Sri Lanka during a conversation on Cricbuzz’s “Hey CB with DK.”
Karthik started by praising Babar Azam’s excellent batting abilities. Azam is one of the best players in international cricket and has always been praised for his technical skill and reliability.
Karthik pointed out that Azam might be feeling a lot of pressure from being captain, which could hurt his play. “Babar Azam is an unquestionably talented player.
Though he’s under much strain, Karthik said he has excellent batting potential. Under pressure, especially while managing team leadership responsibilities, a player may perform below their actual capacity.
The choice made by Pakistan to declare early in their first-inning match against Bangladesh was also discussed.
According to Karthik, it is usually advantageous for teams to set a high standard by batting longer in the first innings.
This strategy might put more pressure on the adversary and complicate the situation. They ought to give that some more thought.
Karthik said in that test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, “I felt they declared a bit too early in the first innings.”
He underlined that longer innings might be helpful in subcontinental circumstances when pitches can frequently provide spinners with significant assistance as the match unfolds.
Karthik broadened his analysis to cover the more general issues that cricket-playing countries like Sri Lanka and Pakistan face.
He ascribed these clubs’ recent challenges to financial setbacks that have affected their domestic cricket operations and infrastructure.
“To succeed in international cricket, you must have a solid home foundation. Over the years, that has presented a hurdle for both of these teams, according to Karthik.
These nations’ financial limitations have limited their capacity to invest in infrastructure, which has lowered the standard of domestic cricket and, as a result, the calibre of players coming out of these systems.
The former cricket player brought attention to a recurring issue: low funding causes poorer national structures, which are then reflected in performance on the international stage.
They’ve struggled financially, which impacts the growth of the facilities and, ultimately, their domestic cricket.
Thus, they haven’t been able to generate cricket players of the calibre they have throughout the years,” Karthik said.
Karthik concluded by underlining how important it is to have both solid domestic cricket systems and a robust financial system to develop talent and improve performance on the global stage.
“Getting your finances, using them for cricket, and then making sure that domestic cricket is played is a very big cycle that will undoubtedly feed into your international cricket,” he stated.
These structural problems must be addressed to give nations like Pakistan and Sri Lanka a better basis for their cricketing futures.
