Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar strongly criticized the Indian team for its outing in Adelaide against England in the second semi-final which they lost by 10 wickets and crashed out of the T20 World Cup 2022.
England is now set to face Pakistan in the T20 World Cup final at MCG on Sunday and while reviewing Rohit Sharma and co.’s performance in the tournament, Akhtar believes Indian cricket is at its “lowest” and that the side “didn't deserve” to meet Pakistan in the final.
“Indian fast bowling ke paas express fast bowlers nahi hai. Cut-throat spinners nahi hain. Confusing selection ke saath India andar gaya, aur badi maar khaayi. Conditions ke fast bowlers hain India ke, jahan conditions mil gayi toh khelte rahenge. Lekin very disappointing performance from India. India doesn't deserve to meet us in MCG, or allowed to take a flight to come to Melbourne, because unki cricket aaj expose hui hai. (India don't have express fast bowlers or impactful spinners. They had a confusing selection. Their pacers can perform if conditions suit them.),” Akhtar said on his official YouTube channel.
Akhtar then added that the Indian team reaching the semi-finals was not a thing to brag about as two of the teams they defeated were the Netherlands and Zimbabwe.
Notably, Pakistan had lost to Zimbabwe and only reached the semis after the Netherlands beat South Africa paving the way for them to be able to beat Bangladesh and make it into the semis.
“Semifinal tak pohochna kaunsi badi baat hai? 4 achhi teams hain total, unme se bhi Netherlands ko haraana ya Zimbabwe ko haraake pohoch jaana... koi badi baat nahi hai. Indian cricket is at the lowest right now because when it comes to ICC events, India ko apni kaptaani dekhni hogi, management ko blame lena hoga, bowling department me confusing selection ke saath Shami ko uthaake le aaye. Achhe fast bowler hain lekin banta nahi tha. (What's so big in reaching semis? There were 4 good teams in total. You beat Netherlands and Zimbabwe, nothing big. India need to look at their leadership, management needs to take accountability. It was a confusing selection),” Akhtar further said.
