Former Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shehzad slammed Rohit Sharma-led India for their humiliating Test series loss against New Zealand. The Kiwis won the second Test match in Pune by 113 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series and handed India a first home series loss in nearly 12 years.
On his YouTube channel, Shehzad praised New Zealand for their strong performance against India on home soil. He also referred to the Indian team as "paper tigers."
"New Zealand have come to India and thrashed them as if they had the right to do so, beating them like kids and walking away. They've pulled a prank on India. People are now saying, 'Kagaz ke sher, aur ghar mein dher' (Paper tigers, crumbled at home)," Shehzad was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.
Shehzad suggested India got complacent because of the home factor, adding that Rohit Sharma and his men played like schoolboys.
"When India were bowled out for 46 runs (in the first Test), Rohit Sharma had said, 'Everyone has a bad day.' And we accept that. Absolutely fair. But in this Test match too, the way you've played cricket, it seems like you've become complacent. Rohit Sharma says that they don't believe in unnecessary talk, but that spirit was missing in the last two Tests. These two matches have been played in a way that makes it seem like schoolboys were playing," he added.
The third Test match will take place at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai scheduled to start from November 1 to 4. After finishing the Test series against BlackCaps the Men in Blue will travel to Australia for the five-Test match series scheduled to start from November 22.
BGT squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed.
