"Bichare ko dard hua hai rone do"- Fans troll Shoaib Akhtar for distasteful comments on India after Pakistan's defeat to Zimbabwe in T20 World Cup 2022
Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar made a strong claim after Pakistan suffered another heartbreaking defeat in the T20 World Cup, this time against Zimbabwe. In a video on his YouTube channel, Akhtar slammed Babar Azam and his men for their lack of planning.
However, he also said something that triggered the Indian fans and he faced some flak from them on social media. Shoaib Akhtar believes that Team India won't progress to the final of the T20 World Cup and their campaign will end in the semifinals itself. Here's what he said:
"Maine pehle bhi ye bola tha, ki Pakistan iss hafte Pakistan waapis aajaegi, aur agle hafte India waapis aajaegi. Vo bhi semifinal khel ke vaapis aa jaaegi. Vo bhi koi itne tees maar khan nahin hai. (I had predicted this long back that Pakistan will return this week, and India will return next week after playing the semifinal. Even they don't have great players.)"
This certainly didn't go down well with the fans of the Men in Blue as they felt there was no need to mention their team when Pakistan lost to Zimbabwe. Here are some of the reactions:
Shoaib Akhtar tore into Pakistan team and management
Shoaib Akhtar mainly questioned the tactics of Pakistan captain Babar Azam and felt that he is just not good enough. He has also been speaking about the approach of the batting line-up for a long time, and was convinced that it would get exposed on a big stage like the T20 World Cup.
On this, he stated:
"I have said this before, and I am saying it again that with our top and middle-order, we can achieve big success. We can't win consistently. Pakistan have a bad captain."
Shoaib Akhtar also elaborated on various flaws in the team and added:
"Babar should bat one down. Major flaw in Shaheen Shah Afridi's fitness. Major flaw in the captaincy, and major flaws in the management. We will back you but what brand of cricket are you playing? You can't just walk into a tournament and expect that the opposition will let you win."
Pakistan are yet to win a T20I on Australian soil.