"I see a rift in this team" - Shoaib Akhtar on Team India's current state following South Africa series defeat
Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar believes Team India are at a critical juncture at the moment following Virat Kohli's tenure as captain and Ravi Shastri's as coach.
In their first ODI series in the post Kohli-as-captain era, India suffered a 3-0 defeat against South Africa.
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Akhtar admitted that he did not see a united effort by the team on the field in the ODI series, leading to his belief of a rift within the side.
The 46-year-old also doesn't think Kohli quit as India's Test captain of his own volition. While speaking on his YouTube channel, Akhtar elaborated:
"I see a rift in this team. Important to see how the team will be handled. I don't think Kohli quit because he wanted to, such a situation was created that he had to leave captaincy. There are a lot of reasons behind Kohli's decision to leave Test captaincy, that I cannot say because of confidentiality."
Akhtar added that it was absolutely essential for the team to address their poor set of performances on the South Africa tour. He feels it is the management's task to sort out the unrest in the dressing room.
"The recent performances have left India humiliating. I don't think the Indian team should be losing to such a South Africa team, that too in a demoralizing manner.
"Moving ahead from this point, the BCCI, Management, captain and the rest of the players will have to regroup. The issues of unrest will have to be put to an end by the management. I didn't see a combined effort by the team in South Africa."
India have a home series lined up against the West Indies to amend things in the short run. It is slated to be Rohit Sharma's first assignment as full-time ODI skipper.
"A lot of question marks for Indian cricket at the moment" - Shoaib Akhtar
Following Kohli's resignation as captain across all formats, Akhtar wished for the 33-year-old to get back to his best.
He also feels that India have to sort out their middle-order woes, among many other issues.
"I wish for Kohli to play his normal cricket now. No hundred in the last 2 years, score one now, keep breaking records. There is no need for him to prove anything but tough times are coming ahead.
"India will have to strengthen their middle-order because they crumble after the top order is gone. A lot of question marks for Indian cricket at the moment."
That's that from the final ODI. South Africa win by 4 runs and take the series 3-0.
Scorecard - bit.ly/SAvIND-3rdODI #SAvIND https://t.co/lqrMH4g0U9
Kohli was among the runs in the recently concluded tour of South Africa, but the 71st hundred continues to evade him.
The onus is now primarily on the BCCI and team management to resolve the side's persisting issues, especially with three ICC events on the horizon.