Former Pakistan cricketer and bowling legend Shoaib Akhtar came down harsh at team India for showcasing an ‘average performance’ against New Zealand on Sunday in the ongoing T20 World Cup in Dubai. The Men in Blue surrendered against the Kiwi attack, scoring a paltry 110 fo7 in 20 overs. In reply, the Black Caps chased down the target with 33 balls to spare, winning the game by 8 wickets.
“They made a lot of mistakes. You can see it yourself, it’s very disappointing. My heart goes out to you. It’s not easy to swallow this kind of defeat.
“You ask your experts or anybody else, India never looked like taking the field today and that was so disappointing to see. And the second thing, India’s bowling looked very mediocre to me. Besides Bumrah, no other bowler seemed to be playing to his potential. Varun Chakravarthy managed the things a bit but the rest of the bowling was absolutely average,” Shoaib told Zee News.
“I couldn’t understand how would they play like this. And what happened if you lose the toss. Is it taking your life away? They just gave up after losing the toss,” he added.
Akhtar further stated that he is worried about India’s next game against Afghanistan. He asserted that Indian management needs to reassess its strategies before moving ahead in the tournament.
“You just changed the batting order, played rash shots, Shami bowled too late, Shardul seemed average… it was disappointing to see all these. And now I worry about them facing Afghanistan in their next game. If they win the toss in Abu Dhabi, they will destroy India’s batting with spin.
“They have to go back to the drawing board and think if they want to play cricket on Instagram or on the field. Get your bowling unit in order, somehow,” Shoaib concluded.
India will next face Afghanistan on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi.
