“India will go back home after the semi-final as they aren’t that good,” says Shoaib Akhtar

Zimbabwe stunned Pakistan in Group 2 of the T20 World Cup 2022 on Thursday. The squad, led by Babar Adam, was defeated in front of Zimbabwe. Shoaib Akhtar, a former Pakistan speedster, was saddened by Pakistan’s failure in the present T20 World Cup. He also remarked on the Indian squad, predicting that Rohit Sharma’s Men in Blue will exit the competition in the semi-finals next week.

Pakistan’s shocking one-run loss to Zimbabwe on the final ball of their T20 World Cup Super 12 Group 2 encounter in Perth on Thursday drew scathing criticism from both fans and analysts. Wasim Akram, Shoaib Malik, Waqar Younis, and Misbah-ul-Haq unleashed a stinging assault on Babar Azam and team for suffering consecutive World Cup defeats, putting their semi-final qualifying in risk. Shoaib Akhtar, too, did not pull punches in his analysis of Pakistan’s humiliation at Perth’s Optus Stadium, but the former Pakistan speedster made another projection that has not gone down well with the fans.

Akhtar commented on his YouTube channel, “It’s really disappointing. I have said this earlier that Pakistan will return home this week. India, too, will go back home after playing the semi-final as they too aren’t that good”.

He further stated,”Maine pehle bhi kaha hai ki Pakistan iss haftah Pakistan waapas aa jayegi, aur agle hafte India bhi waapas aa jayegi semi-final khel ke. Vo bhi koi utne tees maar khan nahi hain. I had said it before that Pakistan will return home this week while India will be back next week, after playing the semi-final. India aren’t a quality team either.”

The Rawalpindi express criticized everyone including skipper Babar Azam to even the Pakistan Cricket Board for the results the team produced in Australia. “Your performances are average. Enjoy, and keep selecting unworthy players. Don’t let in good people. I’m not talking about myself. The job can go to hell. I’m just worried that the country suffers because of this. Don’t bring cut-for-role people, who are disciplined and know how things work. You’ve ruined everything,” a fuming Akhtar further added.

The outcome casts major doubt on Pakistan’s chances of reaching the T20 World Cup semi-finals in 2022. Pakistan is now ranked fifth in Group 2 with three games remaining and no wins to their record. In contrast, India had won both of its first two games.

With back-to-back victories over Pakistan and the Netherlands, India leads Group 2. If they defeat South Africa in their next encounter on Sunday, the Rohit Sharma-led team would be almost certain to go to the semi-finals, since their remaining two games will be against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Pakistan will be expecting that India wins their remaining fixtures and that they win three in a row to qualify for the semi-finals as the group’s second-best team.