Asia Cup 2023
‘Identify your final XI first’- Shoaib Akhtar slams Indian management
India made three changes from the team that played against Pakistan in the first match.
India and Pakistan played an edge-of-the-seat thriller on Sunday in which the Men in Green trumped their arch-rivals in the Asia Cup 2022. The game was a stark contrast to the first one where India won the game by 5 wickets. Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has now slammed the Indian team management, following their five-wicket defeat in the Super Four round. The Rawalpindi Express suggested India to decide on a final XI and keep away from constant chopping and changing in the team.
Talking about the team’s performance following Pakistan’s win, Akhtar put out a video on YouTube titled, “Pakistan’s Victory Thunder from Nawaz”. In the video, he questioned India’s selection and said, “Ek to Hindustan ye faisla karle ki final XI kya pick karni hai usko.”
Here’s the video:
Shoaib Akhtar went on to say, “India should decide what should be their final XI. Who is your future? Is it Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Deepak Hooda, or Ravi Bishnoi? Find your final XI at least first, because this is a confusing selection from India and I don’t know why there is so much confusion.”
Notably, India has been making frequent changes in the playing XI due to a rise in talents coming through the ranks. Even in this match, the Indian team made three changes. After Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out due to a right knee injury, Axar Patel was included in the squad as a like-for-like replacement.
Last night’s game, however, saw three changes but none were Axar Patel. Rishabh Pant, Ravi Bishnoi and Deepak Hooda were brought into the playing XI as changes from the last India- Pakistan game in the group stage. Akhtar has hinted at these many changes creating confusion for the players and destabilizing the team. Despite losing, India still have a chance to qualify for the final with a win in both the next two games.
India are scheduled to play against Sri Lanka on September 6th before clashing with Afghanistan on 8th September. Elsewhere, Pakistan will play against Afghanistan on 7th September and clash with Sri Lanka on 9th September.
