ISLAMABAD: Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) during Wednesday's session slammed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the cricket team for what they called an abysmal performance during the ongoing One-Day International (ODI) series against Bangladesh and the team's failure to advance into the semi-finals of International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2015.

The cricket team received country-wide criticism after its second consecutive defeat in the ODI series under the captaincy of newly-appointed skipper Azhar Ali.

Read: Misery for Pakistan as Bangladesh seal historic series win

MNAs also lashed out against the team's poor performance when one of the lawmakers raised the issue.

Former sports minister and MNA Aijaz Jakhrani asked why Sarfaraz Ahmed was taken to the World Cup but was given the chance to play only in Pakistan's last two matches in the tournament.

Another MNA raised the point that the Pakistan cricket team's ranking among the top teams was dropping rapidly.

Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Riaz Hussain Pirzada blamed the team's dwindling performance on the infrastructure and lack of facilities and funds available for the players.

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"We don't have enough resources. There is a serious dearth of electricity; how do you expect funds to be made available for the players?"

MNA Khalida Mansoor asked who was responsible for the cricket team's loss in the ODI series against Bangladesh as well as Pakistan's failures in the World Cup. She further asked Pirzada to propose what should be done to improve the worsening situation of Pakistan's cricket scene.

Pirzada argued that the team's performance was not as poor as was being made out to be and that the result of cricket matches tended to be "by-chance".

Also read: Pakistan look to avoid further humiliation in final ODI

MNA Shaikh Rohail Asghar questioned the experience and record of PCB officials and the selection committee, especially chief selector Haroon Rashid.

Opposition leader Khursheed Shah attempted to explain where he believed the real fault lay. "Everyone has their eyes on the huge empire of PCB," he said, adding that only professionals who have profound knowledge of cricket teams and pitches around the world should manage Pakistan cricket.

He further said that the root cause of Pakistan cricket's failure was that nurseries developing talent had been shut down.

He said unlike the past, players were now being recruited from either Karachi or Lahore and certain groups had formed which pledged placements only to their players.