‘It’s Depressing’: Shakeel Laments Pakistan’s Batting Woes After Another Collapse

Pakistan batter Saud Shakeel has expressed his frustration over the team’s repeated batting failures after another disappointing display against England at Edgbaston.

Pakistan were bowled out for just 33.5 overs on a surface that appeared to offer their best batting conditions of the series. Shakeel admitted that the team continued to make the same mistakes and stressed the need to fight through difficult periods rather than giving away wickets cheaply.

“The pitch will improve as the Test goes on but early on, there was juice in it,” Shakeel said. “The toss isn’t in our hands, but we lost it and batted first, and the overcast conditions favoured England there.”

According to Shakeel, Pakistan had a valuable opportunity to build a partnership after England’s own top order struggled against the new ball. However, the visitors failed to capitalise as their batting order collapsed once again.

Pakistan’s top five all failed to reach double figures, marking the first time their top five had all been dismissed for single-digit scores in a Test first innings in England. The lack of resistance was further highlighted by the fact that the 46-ball tenth-wicket partnership between Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Ali was the longest stand of the innings.

The collapse was not solely down to the pitch. Pakistan’s shot selection in the opening session also came under scrutiny, with several batters falling to loose or unnecessary strokes.

“It’s depressing, we’re making the same mistake as a batting unit,” Shakeel said. “We’re getting out in bunches and there were lots of soft dismissals today. We’re trying, but yes, it’s frustrating that we keep making the same mistakes.”

Shakeel rejected the suggestion that a lack of confidence was behind Pakistan’s struggles, insisting that players at international level must have the belief required to compete.

“I don’t think it’s a confidence issue. If you don’t have the confidence to play at this level, then you don’t deserve to play here,” he said. “But in difficult conditions, poor form can be quite hard to break out of.”

Shakeel Leads the Fight

Amid Pakistan’s wider batting struggles, Shakeel has emerged as the one batter showing signs of consistency. He has scored 140 runs across his last two innings and remains comfortably Pakistan’s leading run-scorer in the series.

The left-hander has also shown a willingness to adapt his natural, defensive approach depending on the circumstances. At Lord’s, he took on the short-ball challenge, while at Edgbaston he adopted a more aggressive approach as wickets fell around him.

“I try to play according to the demands of any situation,” Shakeel explained. “With wickets falling around me, the best option for me was to make as many runs as I could. So I was batting quicker to adjust to the situation around me.”

Pakistan Surprised by Bowling-Friendly Conditions

Shakeel also admitted that Pakistan had been surprised by the extent of the assistance available to bowlers in England.

The visitors had expected more favourable batting conditions after following the summer’s earlier Test matches, but the series has instead produced significant lateral movement, making life difficult for the Pakistani batting lineup.

“The conditions were challenging, especially at Lord’s,” Shakeel said. “Over there, even someone like Joe Root struggled and has had a difficult series.”

“I was surprised with the conditions here. If you look at the New Zealand series and compare it to this one, there is a lot of lateral movement here. We are not used to that, perhaps.”

Despite the difficult circumstances, Shakeel accepted that Pakistan’s batting failures could not simply be blamed on the conditions.

“We were trying our best. We accept our batting failures, but the conditions are also in the favour of the bowlers,” he said.

Pakistan will now have to find a way to break the cycle of early dismissals and poor partnerships if they are to remain competitive in the Test. For Shakeel, the solution is clear: the team must learn to survive difficult phases and avoid repeating the same mistakes.