Shaheen Afridi advised to ‘play first-class cricket’ by former Pakistan batter after below-par show against Bangladesh

Pakistan cricket has been going through a rough patch over the past 12 months, largely due to the declining form of their top players. The Men in Green miserably lost a handful of major tournaments during this period, and their humiliation has took a pause when they suffered a 10-wicket loss to Bangladesh in the ongoing Test series.

Poor outings by captain Shan Masood, star batter Babar Azam and left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi can also be attributed to Pakistan's first-ever Test defeat against Bangladesh. Afridi picked up two wickets in the first innings, but conceded 88 runs. He failed to make an impact with the new ball and his two wickets came against the tailenders.

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The 24-year-old has also not been at his best in the T20 World Cup earlier this year. In Pakistan's horror campaign, he took five wickets in four matches at an average of 21.00. Due to his dwindling form, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali opined that the fast bowler should be rested and advised him to play first-class cricket to regain his form.

"Shaheen Afridi should be rested 100 percent. He should go and play first-class cricket. He should be rested. Ali S put in a lot of effort. Pakistan failed in bowling, fielding and batting. They beat us in all departments. It is wrong to say that the team had a bad day," Basit said on his YouTube channel.

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Aap log toh Bradman ho na?: Basit's fierce attack against Babar Azam

Basit also slammed former Pakistan captain Babar Azam. The right-hander was dismissed for a duck in the first innings and managed to score just 22 runs in the second innings. The 53-year-old did not mince his words to criticise the face of Pakistan cricket. 

“I'm feeling very disappointed that it seems as if you’ve forgotten how to bat, or have the Bangladesh bowlers cast some magic on you, or is it the pitch that’s done the trick? You all are supposed to be big Bradmans, right? ICC No. 1 Babar Azam. He got a life when a catch was dropped, but then Nahid Rana chased Babar down with his pace. When he got out, it looked like he didn’t even expect the ball to come back like that,” Basit added. (translated to English).