'But if you decode it session by session...' - Saqlain Mushtaq gives baffling statement on how Pakistan played against England

Saqlain Mushtaq (Source: Twitter)

England had a wonderful Test series in Pakistan where they won 3-0 and handed Pakistan a defeat at home for the first time. Pakistan were no match for England with their aggressive 'Bazball' brand of cricket that helped them to get a result even on flat dead pitches.

Pakistan were hammered in all three Tests and they surrendered to England. Babar Azam was questioned about his place on the Test side and the Pakistan team were subject to a lot of criticism, but their assistant coach Saqlain Mushtaq believes differently.

“If you look at 3-0, it'll be shocking. But if you decode it session by session, Pakistan played great cricket. The first two matches we could have won. There wasn't a huge gulf between these two sides. If we'd taken the lead we could have won. The second Test hurt me, but we have to respect the umpire's decision, even though the whole world recognized that was not a catch,” he said to Geo News.

They had more experience than us: Mushtaq

“We played very bravely. We had a vision of qualifying for the WTC final, but we couldn't move that way. But there were a lot of positives in Saud, Salman Agha and Mohammad Wasim,” he added. He went on to say that the 3-0 rout had really hurt the Pakistan players.

“Three-nil hurts. I would also like to go hide in a corner and cry, but if you look at the bigger picture, they had a lot more experience than us. These are not excuses, but experience guides you in key situations, especially in long-form cricket,” added Mushtaq.

“England worked out this strategy; it wasn't as if McCullum said play this way and they suddenly did. They thought about it and said, 'we will try it'. But in this series, we saw they were forced into some traditional batting too. They're having good days, they're all on the same page, but only time will tell if it's all going in the right way,”