Following Pakistan's 3-0 whitewash in the recently-concluded Test series against Australia, where the hosts were thoroughly dominant from start to end, the Pakistani team has been subject to a lot of criticism.
Fingers in particular have been raised at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), with team director Mohammed Hafeez coming under a lot of fire for the team's lacklustre performances.
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Not just that, but the shocking exclusion of bowling spearhead Shaheen Afridi from the final Test saw even more eyebrows being raised.
Syed Yahya Hussaini, a sports journalist for Pakistani news channel Geo News, spoke about a lot of things in the aftermath of the 3-0 loss, speaking in defence of Hafeez and also pointing out a lot of positives, while also mentioning why Pakistan had only themselves to blame for losing the final two games.
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What did Syed Yahya Hussaini say about Mohammed Hafeez and the Pakistan cricket team?
Yahya started by saying that the Australian team lost three Tests in a series against the Aussies for the first time since 1999, while also saying that Hafeez isn't the one to blame for the team's underwhelming results.
The thing is that you have lost in Australia and have lost three Test matches against them for the first time since 1999. You can't ignore that. But if you conduct a post-mortem analysis for this Test series, you will find out a lot of things.
The change that Mohammed Hafeez wants to bring to the team won't happen on its own. It's not like he will make a wish and things will miraculously change in an instant. The players will have to start taking the responsibility.
Yahya also went on to heap praise on the Pakistani bowling unit, striking comparisons with legends of the yesteryear such as Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.
People were saying stuff like, 'Their bowlers are not bowling with enough pace, the ball isn't reaching the batsmen. We are ashamed after seeing their bowling.' Yet, these bowlers did something that the likes of Wasim [Akram] and Waqar [Younis] couldn't do. This team bowled Australia out five times in six innings. Not once did the Australian team cross the 500-run mark in an innings. Not a single batsman could score a century.
The journalist also rubbished talks of Pakistani players not having enough experience of playing Down Under, instead claiming that the players lost games that they should have done better in.
The second important thing is that you say that these players are not sent to play in Australia very often. Well, you sent Imam ul-Haq, Babar Azam. They have toured Australia before. Their performances are in front of you. And they also went to Australia for the 2022 T20 World Cup.
The pitches are the same for us as it is for them. In the last two Tests, you have absolutely handed the game on a silver platter for Australia. You drop a catch when Australia is struggling at 47-4. Now, Hafeez can't come and complete those catches for you, can he? You lose five wickets for just nine runs in the space of 43 balls. Look, the fact of the matter is that the players will have to start taking responsibility. They will have to play their roles in the team to perfection.
Yahya also heaped praise on new Test captain Shan Masood, stating that he led the team from the front.
You could have won the Sydney Test (3rd Test) without Shaheen Shah Afridi. If you talk about the batsmen not taking the responsibility, I admit it. But you need to understand that Shan Masood led this team well, he led Pakistan from the front.
What next for the Pakistan Cricket team?
Shaheen Afridi is set to lead Pakistan in a five-match T20I series against New Zealand in New Zealand. The series begins on January 12, with the final T20I set to take place on January 21.
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