‘Need batters with good technique’: Ex-India star pinpoints why Pakistan are struggling with the bat in ENG vs PAK Tests originally appeared on Cricket News.
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KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Dodda Ganesh says Pakistan and West Indies need first-class batters with sound technique.
- Pakistan were bowled out for 171 on the opening day at Headingley against England in the first Test.
- They lost their last eight wickets for just 74 runs in a familiar collapse in the 1st innings before losing 76/6 in the 2nd.
- Pakistan were eventually bowled out for 135, losing by an innings and 105 runs.
Ex-India star pinpoints why Pakistan are struggling with the bat in ENG vs PAK Tests
Pakistan’s batting has been unravelling for the better part of three years, and the opening Test at Headingley served up the starkest illustration yet. Bowled out for 171 inside 48.1 overs on a surface that offered far less than the overhead conditions suggested, the tourists handed England control of the match before the first day was out.
It was Pakistan’s lowest first-innings score in a Test since 2016 and the only time this decade they have failed to breach 200 batting first. Ollie Robinson claimed a five-wicket haul on his return, with Josh Tongue matching him by cleaning up the lower order.
A 91-run stand between Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq offered the only meaningful resistance before the innings folded, with the last eight wickets falling for just 74 runs. England replied with 409, built around Harry Brook’s 91 and half-centuries from Joe Root and Jordan Cox, to take a 238-run lead.
The visitors, meanwhile, weren’t one to improve in the second innings as they lost eight wickets for just 111 runs. They were eventually bundled for 135 runs, losing the first Test by an innings and 105 runs while falling behind 1-0 in the three-match Test series.
Why Dodda Ganesh says Pakistan need batters with better technique
Former India seamer Dodda Ganesh, who played four Tests and took 365 first-class wickets, believes the problem is structural rather than situational. He argues both Pakistan and West Indies are suffering from a shortage of genuine red-ball batters.
“Pakistan and WI need proper FC batters. Batters with good technique to put on runs at the test level. Unless that happens they’ll continue to disappoint with the bat,” Ganesh wrote.
Pakistan and WI need proper FC batters. Batters with good technique to put on runs at the test level. Unless that happens they’ll continue to disappoint with the bat. WI at least have a good seam attack #ENGvPAK
— Dodda Ganesh | ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಣೇಶ್ (@doddaganesha) August 21, 2026
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He drew a distinction between the two sides when it came to their bowling resources, noting that the Caribbean side at least possess the tools to compete in the field. “WI at least have a good seam attack,” Ganesh added.
The point lands with force given the pattern at Headingley. Pakistan’s collapse came without Babar Azam, ruled out through a hand injury, leaving Salman Ali Agha to stand in as captain, and the second innings brought more of the same as Jofra Archer removed Imam-ul-Haq for a duck and Azan Awais for nine inside the first four overs.
MORE: ‘Pakistan’s worst Test side in 50 years’: English media rips apart Salman Ali Agha & Co.
Why the technique argument only tells half the story
Ganesh is right that neither side is producing enough batters equipped for the demands of five-day cricket, and the domestic structures in both countries have been repeatedly reorganised without solving that basic problem.
Pakistan’s habit of collapsing in clusters, seven wickets for 54 at Headingley, points to a group without the defensive foundations to absorb pressure. The wider issue is one of exposure rather than pure technique. Pakistan’s batters play a fraction of the red-ball cricket their English or Australian counterparts do.
Not to mention, rotating captains and selection policies have denied them the settled runs that build method. Until both boards address the volume and quality of first-class cricket their players actually get, calling for better technique will remain a diagnosis without a cure.
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