In a candid moment following England's 152-run defeat to Pakistan in the second Test in Multan, captain Ben Stokes publicly apologized to his teammates for showing frustration on the field. The turning point of the match occurred when England dropped two crucial catches during Pakistan's second innings, allowing them to set a target of 297 runs on a sharply turning pitch.

The fielding lapses led to visible frustration from Stokes, who admitted he let his emotions get the better of him during a critical stage of the game.

Stokes' frustration was most evident when Salman Agha Ali was dropped twice in three balls while batting on 4 and 6. The Pakistan batter went on to score a valuable half-century, guiding his team to a second-innings total of 221. England’s dropped catches off Brydon Carse’s bowling, along with Jack Leach's misfield, compounded the tension as Pakistan continued to build their lead.

Addressing the situation after the match, Stokes admitted his emotional outburst and took full responsibility for his actions. Speaking to the media, he stated:

"I actually apologised to the group up there last night. It's the first time in my captaincy that I've let my emotions show in my body language, with how I was feeling as the game was unfolding. I owned up to that, and I'm very annoyed at myself for letting that out. It's something that I don't want to do or be seen to be doing. No one means to drop catches, but it just proves how important catches are out in these subcontinent conditions because they don't come along that often. So I apologised to the group and said that was poor of me. I was a tired and grumpy old man last night. You won't see that happen again."