Simon Doull: 'Does Babar Azam want flat pitches to improve his stats?'
The fact that the bowlers have received little to no assistance has angered both the home crowd and the game's spectators.
Pakistan's Test cricket performance recently has been disappointing. In the last two Test series, where flat tracks were provided for the majority of the matches, the Pakistani team itself has failed to win a single game played at home.
The fact that the bowlers have received little to no assistance has angered both the home crowd and the game's spectators.
The main focus of the New Zealand series has also been the pitch issue, and the batting side has put up a dominant performance that has kept the host side at bay. Following the first Test, the second match appears to be proceeding similarly, with the pitch acting like a highway on Day four.
Simon Doull, broadcaster and former New Zealand player, expressed frustration on-air with the situation and wondered if such pitches were required by Babar Azam, the captain, to improve his numbers.
"Where does that directive come from? Does that come from Babar who wants to bat on a road and improve his own stats? Or does it come from above him?"
Recently, Pakistan's batting coach Mohammad Yousuf attempted to explain the situation by claiming that the nation lacked the soil necessary to produce turning tracks. Doull has also made suggestions that, in order to produce Test matches that the spectators find exciting, the board and the team need to communicate more effectively.