Legendary cricketer Steve Waugh made news with his comments on the Pakistan squad for the ongoing three-match Test series against Australia.
Australia have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series against Pakistan. The hosts won the opening game by a resounding 360-run margin in Perth. They completed the series win with a 79-run triumph in Melbourne.
Steve Waugh, a two-time World Cup winner for Australia, shared his views on the Pakistan squad for the matches. He said Pakistan – like West Indies – did not send a full-fledged Test team for the fixtures.
“It’s pretty obvious what the problem is,” he said as quoted in a report. “The West Indies aren’t sending their full-strength side (to Australia this summer). They haven’t picked a full-strength Test team for a couple of years now.
“Someone like Nicholas Pooran is really a Test batsman who doesn’t play Test cricket. Jason Holder, probably their best player, is not playing now. Even Pakistan didn’t send a full side (to Australia).”
Moreover, the legendary batter hit out at the International Cricket Council (ICC) and major cricket boards for neglecting Test cricket. He urged them to play their role in preserving the format.
“If the ICC or someone doesn’t step in shortly then Test cricket doesn’t become Test cricket because you’re not testing yourself against the best players. I understand why players don’t come. They’re not getting paid properly,” he said.
He feared that players would opt to play in shorter formats and Test cricket would lose its elegance.
“I don’t understand why ICC or the top countries, who are making a lot of money, don’t just have a regulation set fee for Test matches which is a premium, so people are incentivised to play Test cricket. Otherwise, they just play T10 or T20. The public are the ones who are going to suffer because it’s not the full side playing, so it’s not Test cricket,” he said.
