Former Pakistan skipper Ramiz Raja came down heavily against the Babar Azam-led side for their meek surrender against arch-rivals India in Saturday’s World Cup match that eventually turned out to be a lop-sided encounter in favour of the hosts.

India registered a comprehensive victory over Pakistan after bowling them out for a paltry 191 before Rohit Sharma led from the front with a blistering half century to power the side to a seven-wicket win. Playing in front of a partisan crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the men-in-blue enthralled the 1,30,000 in-stadia fans by outplaying Pakistan in all the departments.

Pakistan’s poor performance drew flak from pundits and former cricketers, with former Pakistan Cricket Board chief and ex-skipper Raja terming the defeat as “hurting” and “scarring”.

“It’s going to hurt them. It’s scarring, it’s a pasting, it’s a battering and they’ve been outpaced and outplayed in all the three departments,” Raja told the ICC Review Podcast.

“If you can’t win, then at least compete. Pakistan weren’t able to do that,” he said.

With this win, India also stretched their unbeaten streak to eight consecutive wins in ODI World Cups. Speaking about it Raja said, “It’s a reality and Pakistan have got to do something about it. They can’t be termed as ‘chokers’ against India because that’s not a great tag to have. Somehow, it’s a mental block, it’s a skill block as well.”

“When you’re playing against India, it’s such an environment where it’s 99 percent Indian fans and crowds, you’re overwhelmed. I understand all of that. But Babar Azam has led this side for a good four or five years, so you’ve got to rise to the occasion,” said Raja, a member of Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup winning squad.

“Babar Azam and the senior players will have to rally around some of the young kids and have got to find an answer. They’ve got to be brutally honest in those team meetings. I think that is where Pakistan need to start,” he said.

Akram slams Babar for on-field shirt exchange with Kohli

Pakistan skipper Babar was seen taking Kohli’s signed jersey after the visitors’ thumping loss, but the former’s action met with criticism from Pakistan legend Wasim Akram, who went on to criticize the team’s think tank for their embarrassing performance.

“Babar should have not met Kohli on the ground. This was not the situation to meet Kohli openly. Babar should have taken the shirt privately from Virat,” he would say according to Cricket Pakistan.

Recalling his previous observations about left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, Akram said, “Mai tab se keh raha tha yeh Kuldeep tang karega Pakistan ke middle order batters ko, think tank sun lete. (Since the Asia Cup, I said that Kuldeep would trouble Pakistan’s middle order, the think tank should’ve listened to me). At this level, they should pick the spinners (types of deliveries),” Akram was quoted as saying by A-Sports.

Pakistan started the World Cup with two handsome wins, including a record-breaking chase against Sri Lanka but their morale-crushing defeat to India could affect their tempo. Pakistan, though have a five-day gap to regroup and revisit their shortcomings before taking on Australia, who are yet to open their account in this World Cup after two successive losses.

India, on the other hand, are on a rampage, after three wins, and will look forward to extending the streak when they face Bangladesh at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune on October 19.