Pakistan once again looked second best when they came up against a dominant India in the Group A clash of the T20 Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday. The seven-wicket defeat not only highlighted the gulf between the two sides but also drew sharp criticism back home, with former wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal warning that Pakistan cricket was heading the same way as the country’s hockey. “Pakistan cricket is following the same path as hockey. It is happening with planning. Cricket is being pulled down,” Akmal told telecomasia.net, pointing fingers at mismanagement and poor selection policies. Opting to bat first, Pakistan crawled to 127/9. If not for Sahibzada Farhan’s 40 and Shaheen Shah Afridi’s late fireworks, even reaching three figures would have been difficult. India’s spinners ran riot, with Kuldeep Yadav taking 3/18, Axar Patel 2/18, and Varun Chakravarthy 1/24. In reply, India made light work of the chase. Abhishek Sharma set the tone with a blazing 31 off 13, while skipper Suryakumar Yadav guided the innings with an unbeaten 47. Tilak Verma chipped in with 31 as India sealed the win inside 16 overs. Saim Ayub was Pakistan’s lone bright spot, claiming all three Indian wickets. Akmal lamented that Pakistan no longer produced players of quality, blaming the decay on compromised domestic cricket and selections driven by “liking and disliking” instead of merit. He compared the situation to Pakistan hockey, which has missed several Olympics and World Cups, and suggested that only corporate backing was keeping cricket afloat. “Hockey is run by the government, cricket survives because of private sponsorships. But even cricket has very little time left,” Akmal said grimly. Pakistan still have a chance to reach the Super Four with a likely win against UAE, but Akmal’s words summed up the mood. “If we haven’t played well in the last 10 tournaments, it hardly matters if we fail in one more,” he said. India, meanwhile, have already booked their place in the Super Four with back-to-back wins, looking every bit the world champions.
