Former Pakistan cricketers have launched a scathing critique of the national team after its 41-run defeat to a heavily depleted Australia in the second ODI at Lahore on 3 June, with the loss handing the visitors an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Veterans including Rashid Latif, Sikander Bakht and Basit Ali warned that the country's cricket is sliding at an alarming pace, according to reports published on Wednesday.

Defeat compounds a dismal run

The Lahore reverse came just a fortnight after Pakistan's 2-0 Test whitewash in Bangladesh, an outcome widely described as the ‘lowest point in Pakistan cricket'. The latest collapse is significant because Australia arrived in Lahore without seven frontline players, including regular ODI captain Pat Cummins, pace spearheads Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, and rested opener Travis Head. Tour captain Mitchell Marsh had also pulled out with a calf injury.

What the former stars said

Ex-captain Rashid Latif blamed faulty selection and a lack of game awareness. ‘Pakistan cricket is going down in speed,' Latif reportedly said, adding that the selection appeared transactional — ‘take my two and I take your two' — which he called ‘wrong' and ‘strange'.

Former pacer Sikander Bakht was equally blunt. ‘It's a pathetic performance, but we are now so used to this humiliation that we do not feel pain in our hearts,' he reportedly said, flagging that the squad included players with limited first-class experience.

Pitch strategy backfires

Latif argued that the team's reliance on spin-friendly surfaces had boomeranged. ‘We dug a grave where spinners were taking wickets, but in the second match we ourselves fell in that grave,' he said. Pakistan had taken eight wickets through spin in the series, with debutant Arafat Minhas claiming a five-wicket haul in the first ODI at Rawalpindi, which Pakistan won by five wickets — a result now overshadowed by the back-to-back losses that followed.

Latif also questioned the squad's format-mix, naming Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat and Abdul Samad as T20-oriented players being shoehorned into the 50-over set-up. ‘Our batters lack quality defense, which is hurting their batting,' he said.

Coach in the crosshairs

Former batter Basit Ali said Australia had ‘done good homework and showed our team the mirror as to how you stage a comeback'. He directed his sharpest criticism at head coach Mike Hesson. ‘Hesson should be asked what he is doing with the Pakistan team. Is this the way to prepare for the World Cup? He is damaging Pakistan cricket,' Basit reportedly said.

What's next

Latif urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to hold the management accountable for selection calls and on-field outcomes. With the third ODI now a dead rubber and the 50-over World Cup cycle looming, attention will shift to whether the PCB initiates a structural review or doubles down on the current setup.