Pakistan have become 'careless': Zaheer

Former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas has accused the current side of turning complacent after reaching the world No.1 ranking earlier this year.

Abbas, Pakistan's leading run-scorer in Australia, with 1097 Test runs Down Under, was stinging in his criticism of the current team, saying they had fallen short in all facets of the game.

The former International Cricket Council president also said Pakistan should consider ditching the United Arab Emirates as its 'home' base in favour of England.

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"We got careless after becoming number one in the rankings and it resulted in bad performances in New Zealand and Australia," Abbas told reporters in Lahore.

"If you are the best team you got to perform in every conditions but we are just doing well in the UAE."

Pakistan's performance came under severe criticism from the former players and the fans after the second day's play in Brisbane. They dropped three catches as the Australians scored 429, and then suffered a horrendous collapse of 7-24, before eventually being bowled out for 142 on the third day.

"I say with great regret that we were neither up to the mark with batting nor with bowling and we also dropped lot of catches and did not appeal for dismissals on some occasions," Abbas said.

"We just failed to perform in all the three departments of the game. A total of 400-plus is always considered a big total.

"Though our fast bowlers took four wickets but they could not bowl accurately with decent line and length."

"They should have tried to restrict the Australians as our batting line-up was weak."

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Pakistan were elevated to number one in the Test rankings, albeit briefly, this year mainly due to their performances in the UAE, where they have not lost a series since making it their home in 2010. 

Most of their recent away wins have also come in subcontinent conditions. They beat Bangladesh 1-0 and Sri Lanka 2-1 in away series in 2015. 

This year they won against England at Lord's and The Oval and drew the series 2-2, but Zaheer said the tourists were helped by the conditions. 

"We were lucky that the ball didn't swing much in England otherwise the result would have been the same there too," Zaheer said.

Pakistan have been playing their home cricket in UAE since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2009. They have had great success in the Emirates but struggled outside. 

Pakistan lost a series 0-3 in South Africa in 2013 and last month lost 0-2 in New Zealand. In 2013, they also could not win a series in Zimbabwe. 

Zaheer, who also served as Pakistan's batting consultant during the Asia Cup and 2014 World T20 tournaments in Bangladesh, feels that Pakistan should be playing their homes matches in England rather than UAE. 

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Zaheer feels playing regularly in England would better prepare Pakistan's players for series aborad.

"In England, our team will also find a good number of fans who live there," the former batsman said.

Zaheer also said Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt, the controversial former skipper who was jailed and banned for spot-fixing, should be considered for selection. 

The pair recently helped their domestic side to a maiden title in Pakistan's first-class competition. 

"I don't consider Salman and Kamran old because Misbah and Younis are still playing in old ages," he said.