Shoaib Akhtar hits out at Rohit Sharma for his poor captaincy in a video uploaded on his Youtube channel. India are knocked out of the Asia Cup, 2022, after facing two consecutive defeats in the super four group fixtures. The defending champion’s exit was confirmed post Pakistan’s last over win over Afghanistan on Wednesday. India lost to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in a similar fashion. Both the games went to the wire, with India failing to hold their nerves. India started out as the tournament favorite.
They defeated Pakistan and Hong Kong and made their way to the super four group stage. But things went haywire in the super four matches. They lost all-rounder Jadeja midway owing to a knee injury. The top order remained inconsistent. The fast bowling unit lost track completely, and the poor fielding display added to their misery.
The men in blue, especially the bowling unit, have been facing immense heat from fans and critics for their below-par show. Renowned Pakistan pacer, Shoaib Akhtar is the latest to join the mass.
Shoaib Akhtar issues a wake-up call for India before the World Cup
Former Pakistani speedster, Shoaib Akhtar, has posted a video on his Youtube channel wherein he is seen criticizing India’s Asia Cup performance. He targeted the Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma, and pointed out his uncomfortable body language. He said,
“Rohit Sharma looks very uncomfortable; he is seen shouting on the field.”
The pacer is known for his strong opinions and word choice. Akhtar further added that India is still unsure about their starting XI and that this Asia Cup is an eye-opener for them before the T20 World Cup. He said,
“India brought in Ashwin and dropped Bishnoi, which shows there is uncertainty in the camp. This is a really good wake-up call for India, coming before the World Cup.”
India made frequent changes to their playing eleven throughout this tournament. They are still uncertain between Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik. They did miss their two prime bowling faces, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, due to injuries, but no proper replacements were present in the squad. India struggled to find an adequate XI combination despite having a vast quality bunch of young talent back home.
However, Indian captain Rohit Sharma is unfazed by the back-to-back losses and is confident that the team will bounce back stronger. India still has a couple of series to play before the commencement of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, 2022. Till then, they have time to figure everything out.
Coming back to the Asia Cup, Pakistan defeated Afghanistan in a last-over thriller match on Wednesday. As a result, both India and Afghanistan are out of the final race. Pakistan and Sri Lanka have qualified and are all set to play the final on 11th September (Sunday). Before that, they will face off on Friday for the group match.
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