"Who says where the coin has to land?" - Wasim Akram responds to Sikandar Bakht's 'toss-fixing' claims against Team India
Former Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram has lashed out at his countryman Sikandar Bakht for suggesting that Team India are fixing tosses at the 2023 ODI World Cup.
While speaking on a news channel recently, Bakht, a former Pakistani pacer himself, suggested that Rohit deliberately tends to land the coin far from the opposition skipper's vision so that the toss decision can't be countered.
"If you see closely enough, whenever Rohit Sharma gets to flip the coin for the toss, he also tosses it far away from the other captain. It is almost far enough that the other captain never really gets to see what the actual outcome of the toss was," he said.
Wasim Akram, who earlier countered Hasan Raza's bizarre theory that Team India gets a special set of white balls to get extra movement, was told about Bakht's comments on The Pavilion show on A Sports. The former pacer was seemingly flabbergasted by his countryman's claim, and said he was "embarrassed" by it.
"Who decides where the coin should land? The mat is there for sponsorship reasons. I feel embarassed," Akram said.
Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik closed the subject by claiming that such a matter has no point for discussion.
"The quality of Indian batting made the New Zealand bowling attack look pedestrian" - Wasim Akram
The former Pakistan pacer was full of praise for Team India after they qualified for the 2023 ODI World Cup final. The Men in Blue defeated New Zealand by 70 runs in the first semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Lauding Indian skipper Rohit Sharma for his aggressive knock at the top, Wasim Akram said:
"We do not hear a lot about Rohit because he does not reach centuries, or hit double centuries, but the starts that he gives. He scored 47 off 29 balls, India hit 84 in the first 10 overs, that was the platform that India really needed."
"Look at the shots that he played. He puts the opposition under pressure with his batting and from there India get to 397. The quality of Indian batting made the New Zealand bowling attack look pedestrian," he added.
Do you think there is any credibility to the 'toss-fixing' theory laid out by Bakht? Let us know what you think.