After Team India suffered a humiliating 10-wicket defeat against England in the second semi-final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar made the most of the opportunity to call out the Men in Blue for playing terrible cricket at Adelaide Oval.
Defending their total of 168 runs, Indian bowlers failed to take a single wicket, as Jos Buttler (80*) and Alex Hales (86*) put up an unbeaten 170-run opening partnership to chase down the target in 16 overs and win the match by 10 wickets against Team India on Thursday (November 10) in Adelaide.
With the remarkable win, England stormed into the final of the T20 World Cup 2022, where they will battle out with Pakistan on November 13 at the MCG for the coveted title, while Team India’s campaign ended on an embarrassing note after topping the points table in their Super 12 group.
After the match, the Rawalpindi Express lashed out at Rohit Sharma and co. and said that they didn’t deserve to qualify for the final, especially after the way they played against England. He was also taken aback by Yuzvendra Chahal's non-selection for the big clash at the T20 World Cup 2022.
Shoaib Akhtar said in a video uploaded on Twitter: “It’s a very embarrassing loss for India. They played terribly and they deserved to lose and didn’t deserve to qualify for the finals.”
He added, “India were beaten very badly. Their bowling was exposed very badly. These conditions are helpful for fast bowling and India don’t have an express pacer. I am not sure why they didn’t play Chahal in a single match. It’s a confusing team selection for India.”
Opining on India’s fight in the second innings against England, Akhtar noted: “It was a really bad day for India as their heads went down after they lost the toss. When England batted their first five overs, the Indians raised their hands. At least, India should have tried to fight, come round the wicket and bowl bouncers. They showed no aggression whatsoever.”
Following India’s disappointing shows at the Asia Cup 2022 and now at the T20 World Cup 2022, the former Pakistan pacer said that the team management and BCCI should look at Hardik Pandya as a permanent T20I captain. He will soon be seen leading the Indian team on its New Zealand tour.
Akhtar signed off by saying, “There is a lot to think about for Indian cricket. Hardik Pandya is an emerging captain for New Zealand tour and he has a chance of being permanent.”
