“Reaching Semis By Beating Zimbabwe, Netherlands No Big Deal”: Shoaib Akhtar’s Brutal Dig At Indian Team

What led to India’s semi-final exit from the T20 World Cup 2022? While the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli looked at their absolute best, there were a number of players who punched below their weight. After winning 4 of their 5 Super 12 matches, India reached the semi-final of the tournament where they were hammered by England, suffering a 10-wicket defeat. After the embarrassing result in the penultimate round, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has launched scathing attack on the Indian team, saying “reaching semi-final after beating teams like Zimbabwe and Netherlands isn’t a big deal”.

Akhtar, who is known for his unfiltered criticism of cricket teams, including the Pakistan team itself, said in a video on YouTube that the Indian team didn’t deserve to qualify for the final.

“India don’t have express fast bowlers or cut-throat spinners in their team. Their team selection was also confusing and the players were brutally hammered. Indian pacers can’t perform if the conditions don’t suit them. Very disappointing performance from India and they don’t deserve to meet us (Pakistan) in the final at MCG. Their cricket has been exposed today,” Akhtar had said in a video posted on YouTube on Thursday.

The Rawalpindi Express also said that qualifying for the semi-final isn’t a big deal considering there are only 4 teams in the group, two of which were Zimbabwe and the Netherlands.

Promoted

“Reaching the semi-finals isn’t a big deal. There were 4 good teams in total. You beat Netherlands and Zimbabwe, that’s nothing. India need to look at their leadership and the management needs to take accountability. It was a confusing selection as they went with Mohammed Shami despite having other good pacers at their disposal,” Akhtar further said.

After yet another T20 World Cup debacle, the selectors are expected to give a number of young players a longer rope in the team, with an eye on the 2024 T20 World Cup.