Salman Ali Agha responds to ‘worst Pakistan side ever’ criticism after debacle against England in Headingley

Salman Ali Agha was grilled after Pakistan lost the first Test against England inside three days.

There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel for Pakistan cricket these days. Not many expected the side to come on the right side of the result in the series opener against England at Headingley, and the woes mounted for the visitors after Babar Azam was ruled out due to an injury. However, the performance displayed was shambolic, to say the least. Pakistan lost the Test inside three days and eight sessions. And one can't forget that at least two of the eight sessions were also washed out due to rain.

Salman Ali Agha was grilled after Pakistan lost the first Test (AP)

The Joe Root-led England got the job done by winning the first Test by an innings and 103 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. After Pakistan were being battered left, right and centre, several British publications labelled the current bunch as the “worst Pakistan side in the last 50 years."

In the absence of Babar, Salman Ali Agha led Pakistan in the series opener and after the opening Test got done inside three days in Headingley, the right-handed batter was asked what he makes of the viewpoint of the current Pakistan side being the “absolute worst.”

However, in response to the question, Agha didn't make much of the criticism, attributing his team's loss to poor preparation and a lack of adjustment to the conditions in the UK.

“People can say anything. I feel that whenever the Pakistan team comes here, as a matter of fact, any Asian team tends to struggle here. We came here one week ago; it is not as if we arrived one month ago. You cannot adapt to conditions this quickly, but we are trying,” Agha told reporters after the end of the first Test.

“We will try to give our best in the next two Tests. Any tour here is challenging because one comes from different conditions. There was definitely a gap between the two teams in this Test, but we have the ability to bounce back if we play to our potential,” he added.

Speaking of Pakistan, the visitors arrived in England 12 days before the first day in Headingley and also played a three-day practice game against a select XI in Beckenham, winning by seven wickets.

‘Outplayed’

Agha also didn't mince his words, saying his team was outplayed in all three departments of the game. He added that Pakistan have a lot of catching up to do if they are to have any chance of making a comeback in the series.

“Bowling, batting and fielding - England outplayed us. We were not consistent enough in any department. In England, consistency is important because there is lateral movement here, so you must be focused at all times. That was missing. And we think that missing consistency is what resulted in this performance,” said Agha.

Pakistan's batting was so abysmal throughout the Test that it took England only 514 balls to scalp 20 wickets. Not much was to be said about the bowling, as Pakistan conceded more than 400 runs, even when there was plenty of assistance for the pacers.