Home
Following India’s eight-wicket loss against New Zealand in the Super 12 game of the T20 World Cup, former Pakistan bowler Shoaib Akhtar lashed out at the Indian team for their poor performance in the mega event.
According to Akhtar, India didn't look like a team that came to play the T20 World Cup, describing their performance as an average one.
"I predicted that India would fall as a result of media pressure, and that is exactly what happened. Furthermore, losing the toss demoralised them completely; the ball gets stuck in the first innings, whereas there is no swing or seam in the second innings, so the teams get stuck here; however, if you weren't getting huge strokes, at least play 20 overs," Akhtar said in a video on his YouTube channel.
"Why didn't you play Rohit Sharma as an opener? Why did you send a youngster, Ishan Kishan?" I didn't understand what policy and mindset India was operating under; they were a completely lost bunch. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma no one was coming to their original number, and they appeared to be a very average team," the former fast bowler added.
In addition, the Pakistan pace icon slammed India's bowling unit, claiming that the worst is yet to come for the Men in Blue.
"Apart from Bumrah, Varun (Chakravarthy) was okay, but the rest of the bowling lineup looked quite average, India was never there, and it's going to be extremely difficult for them from here on." They'll take the field against Afghanistan to save respect, and if Afghanistan wins the toss in Abu Dhabi, it'll be difficult for India; I see dark clouds looming," the 46-year-old said.
The former Pakistani sprinter speedster also advised the Indian squad to avoid social media and reassemble as a unit for the rest of the tournament.
"It's critical that you rebuild your bowling unit, stop uploading videos on Instagram, and start playing on the ground." As cricket is a passion, not a fashion, only those who play with passion can become world beaters; otherwise, with the Indian team's approach, you have no place in international cricket after this performance," he concluded.
India will now face off Afghanistan in a must-win encounter on Wednesday.
