Stuart Broad Babar Azam for Pakistan. Image Credits: AFP
England's great pacer Stuart Broad has made a huge U-turn on his opinion about the Pakistan team, only weeks after calling them a “poor side." Broad’s assessment of the Pakistan side had come before the ongoing three-match Test series against England.
The Pakistan side lived up to Broad’s assessment as England won the first Test in Leeds by an innings and 103 runs. Pakistan was expected to do well at Lord's, where they had won their last three tests on previous visits. Also, Babar Azam had returned to the fold, having missed the first Test. But England proved to be too good and won the game by 195 runs.
Stuart Broad expressed regret for calling Pakistan a poor side
However, Stuart Broad has acknowledged that he regrets calling Pakistan a "poor side" prior to their current Test series against England. In a recent podcast interview with the YouTube channel "For the Love of Cricket," Broad discussed his remarks, which he made twice: once prior to the series and once before the Lord's Test
After calling the squad "poor," Broad said that his first evaluation was incorrect and disclosed that he had a lot of feedback from Pakistani supporters, who highlighted the enormous passion, pride, and emotional connection that still exists inside the nation for cricket.
“I said before the series that I felt Pakistan was a poor side, and I got a lot of messages and notes on social media from Pakistan. It showed me how much passion, love, and drive there still is for Pakistan cricket," Broad said on the For Love of Cricket podcast.
Additionally, Broad acknowledged Pakistan's plenty of talent, especially among its fast bowlers and hitters, who he believes are capable of competing at the top level.
Also Read: Mohsin Naqvi Drags India While Defending 7 Players, 2 Coaches Sacking
"There’s so much passion for the game in that country, and there’s talent there. They have bowlers who bowl at 140 clicks and batters who can hit the ball,” he added.
Selection and dressing room vibes are the reason: Stuart Broad on the downfall of Pakistan cricket
After seeing Pakistan during two Test matches, he stated that he now thinks the difficulties are more deeply ingrained in the nation's cricketing system, citing frequent coaching changes, the hierarchy, and the selection procedure as major problems.
“I actually regret saying they were a poor side because I feel that they blamed the players. Now that I’ve seen them operate in two test matches, I can quite clearly see that it’s the hierarchy, the selection, and the changes in coaching that are the issues,” he stated.
Turmoil hits Pakistan cricket on England tour
After the embarrassing loss at Lord’s, the Pakistan Cricket Board took a huge step and sacked head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul before the third and final test in Birmingham. In addition to it, PCB also dropped seven players from the Pakistan squad, including Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha, who captained the side in the first Test.
In their replacement, white-ball head coach Mike Hesson has been named the test coach, and PCB included seven new players in the squad, including Saim Ayub, and five of those players are yet to play Test cricket.
Also Read: Deepak Hooda-Krunal Pandya Fight Sees New Chapter, Baroda Cricket Involved Again
.jpg?type=mq "S Badrinath Took A sly dig At Gautam Gambhir!")
