T20 World Cup 2021: "It is injustice to Team India that media present them in such a way that they can't lose any game" - Shoaib Akhtar slams India media
Former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar has come down harsh on Indian media for their criticism of the Indian cricket team. The 46-year old opined that the Indian media has done "injustice" to Virat Kohli's side following their two consecutive losses in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021.
After India's comprehensive loss against their arch-rivals Pakistan, the Men in Blue continued their poor performances against New Zealand. They faced yet another crushing defeat to New Zealand.
In the aftermath of the side's loss, Indian team faced a lot of criticism from the Indian media and cricket pundits. Shedding light on the same subject, former Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar vindicated the Indian cricket team. While condemning the "unnecessary pressure" put by Indian media, Akhtar lamented:
"I'm not taking their defense but what I what am getting is that the criticism team India are currently facing and the unnecessary pressure Indian media has put onto them, it's not great..I don't like it at all. Tell me one thing, did the Indian team ever say that the media should boast about them?"
"Common, why this much of misconduct. It is injustice to the team that the media presents them in such a way that the Indian team can't ever lose a single game, they are the pride of India and what not," Akhtar mentioned in his YouTube video.
"If the same Indian team would've won the game, the media would've taken them into sky" - Shoaib Akhtar
Weighing on the subject, Akhtar exclaimed that the same Indian media would've glorified the Indian team, if they would've won their matches in the World Cup.
Check out the updated most runs in T20 World Cup 2021 list here.
Akhtar lambasted Indian news channels for gaining views on the back of heavily criticizing their Indian cricket team. In his video, Akhtar said:
"And after all the hype around the team, if India loses a match, even then, the media benefits from it. They gained huge TRP by criticizing the Indian team. I was watching Indian media, and everyone was bashing the team and were citing that they only want to play IPL for money. That's not fair, man. Yes they've lost those matches but of course they didn't lose it intentionally."
"Firstly, they build the hype and then they slams the team. If the same team would've won the game, then the same media would've taken them into the sky," Akhtar concluded.
Despite losing the first two encounters, Kohli and Co. still have hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages. India will now have to win all their remainder of the matches, which too in comprehensive fashion. They will also rely on the Kiwis' downfall to get through to the semi-finals.
India will play Afghanistan in their next fixture on November 3 in Abu Dhabi.