T20 World Cup 2021: "Why can I see two camps within the Indian team - one with Kohli and one against Kohli" - Shoaib AkhtarÂ
Former Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar feels that the Indian team is split up into two contingents - those with Virat Kohli and one against Virat Kohli. The 46-year old is left baffled by the dismal performances of the Indian team so far in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021.
In the lead up to the tournament, Virat Kohli announced that he will step down as Team India's T20 skipper after the T20 World Cup 2021. However, nothing much has gone in his and India's favor in the tournament.
The Kohli-led side has been outplayed in all departments in both of their first couple of matches. After facing a crashing defeat from their Asian rivals Pakistan in the first game, India comprehensively lost against New Zealand in a virtual quarter-final on October 31.
Former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar, who is perturbed by the current situation in the Indian team, cited that it is crystal clear that the Men in Blue is looking divided. Akhtar said that despite some foul captaincy decisions by Virat Kohli in his previous two matches, everyone should respect him as a great cricketer. Akhtar mentioned:
"Why I can see that there are two camps within the team? One is with the Kohli and one against Kohli. It's crystal clear. The team is looking divided. I don't know why this is happening. Maybe it's because of his last T20 World Cup as a skipper. Maybe he made wrong decisions, which is true. But he's a great cricketer, and we have to respect him."
"Yesterday, after India lost the toss against New Zealand, everyone's heads were down." - Shoaib Akhtar slams the Indian team for being diffident
The former cricketer-turned-expert also bashed India for their poor attitude in the loss against the Kiwis. Akhtar, 46, indicated that the whole team's morale went down as soon as Virat Kohli lost the toss against New Zealand. In his video, Akhtar said:
"Yes criticism is important because they played bad cricket against New Zealand and had the wrong attitude. Yesterday, after they lost the toss, everyone's heads were down."
They had no idea whatsoever. India, you only lost the toss by that time, not the whole match. They were just present there, and had no gameplan whatsoever." Akhtar concluded.
Following India's second loss in the competition, India has been dealt a massive blow in their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages.
India, will now have to win all their remaining matches in a comprehensive fashion. They will also have to rely on New Zealand's downfall in order to have any chances to qualify. India will face Afghanistan in their next fixture in Abu Dhabi on November 3.
Catch the next match on the 2021 T20 World Cup schedule here.