Azhar Ali: “You can’t blame the captain every time but I will admit that we could not defend a total, as a team, which we should have”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali has lashed out at his critics, saying “you can’t blame the captain every time” the national team loses.

Azhar vented his frustration after Pakistan lost the first Test against England by three wickets.

Pakistan looked to have the upper hand and seemed to be on track for an impressive win before Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes scored 75 and 84 not out respectively to lead England to an incredible win in Manchester.

While he feels “it is easy to criticise a captain”, Azhar admitted that Pakistan “could not defend a total, as a team, which we should have”.

“It is easy to criticise a captain with hindsight but we also need to appreciate the way our opponents played. You can’t blame the captain every time but I will admit that we could not defend a total, as a team, which we should have,” Azhar was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.

Azhar also heaped praise on Buttler and Woakes for the way they took the game away from Pakistan.

“They changed the momentum of the game and unfortunately we couldn’t reply to whatever they threw at us,” the 35-year-old conceded.

The second Test between England and Pakistan will begin on Thursday in Southampton.

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