Captain Mohammad Yousuf on Wednesday came in for some scathing criticism by former cricketers after Pakistan's stunning defeat against Australia in the second Test at Sydney.
Pakistan failed to chase a target of a mere 176 runs after allowing the Australians to recover and stage a comeback with a ninth wicket 123-run stand between Mike Hussey and Peter Siddle.
Pakistan's shambolic performance even surprised Australian commentators and experts including Riche Benaud, Ian Chappell, Mark Taylor, Shane Warne, Michael Slater and Tony Greig, who totally rejected Yousuf's approach of employing a defensive and spread out field on the fourth day from the start of play, when the Australians were eight wickets down and just 80 runs ahead in their second essay.
"It is beyond comprehensions what he was trying to do by sending around seven to eight fielders to the boundary ropes early on in the day at a time when he should have attacked both batsmen with the second new ball," former Test captain and ex-chief selector, Aamer Sohail said.
He pointed out that by displaying such a negative mindset, Yousuf allowed Australia to get back into the Test and sent out a clear message that he neither had a confidence in his bowlers to take wickets nor in his batsmen to chase a big total.
Another former captain Moin Khan said that he was surprised by Pakistan's tactics when they were in pole position against Australia.
"I don't know what happened but I think even if Yousuf was not thinking right and his strategy was wrong after the first half an hour, the support staff including coach Intikhab Alam should have sent out a message to him to change his strategy," Moin noted.
Former captain and commentator, Rameez Raja said that Pakistan had lost its best opportunity in many years to surprise Australia in their own backyard.
"We should have been more attacking this morning. It was unacceptable that the ninth wicket pair batted through the extended pre-lunch session without being separated. It reflected poorly on the bowling although the field settings were strange," he said.
Former batsman Basit Ali said the defeat in Sydney had opened the doors for a Australian clean sweep.
"It is rare for a team to lose after bowling out the opposition for just 127 runs on the first day. I think it just shows that Yousuf still has a long way to go to learn the finer art of captaincy and there is no doubt Pakistan is missing the stable batting of Younis Khan and his positive thinking as a captain," he said.
Pakistan were bundled out for 139 runs in their second innings, handing over the Aussies a nerve-shredding 36-run victory.
