T20 WC: India not an unbeatable side, we are even worse, says Shoaib Akhtar after Pakistan lose to Zimbabwe

In pursuit of a modest 131, in Perth, Babar Azam-led Pakistan were 88 for 3 in 13.3 overs before they collapsed and were restricted to 129 for 8 to lose by one run in their Super 12 clash versus Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup, on Thursday (October 27).

After a last-ball defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India, many expected Pakistan to get off the mark in their face-off versus the Craig Ervine-led African side. However, the lowly-ranked side opted to bat first and only managed 130/8 but kept fighting hard and held their nerves to go past the 2009 winners by a run on the last ball of the epic clash.

Following Pakistan’s shocking defeat, many former cricketers have slammed the Men in Green team management. Shoaib Akhtar, known as the Rawalpindi Express, also lashed out at his national side and also predicted India’s fortunes in the mega event in Australia. While Rohit Sharma & Co. are at the top of Group B, Akhtar feels Pakistan will return home next week and India will follow suit after a semi-final defeat.

“I had already told Pakistan that they will come back this week. And India will come back next week after playing in the semi-final. Voh bhi koi Tees Maar Khan nahi hai (India are also not some unbeatable side) and we are even worse,” Akhtar said on his YouTube channel.

Akhtar then shifted his focus on Team Pakistan’s flaws and said, “I have been saying this repeatedly, these openers, the middle order aren’t good enough for us to get success at this level. What can I say? Pakistan have a bad captain. Pakistan is out of the world cup in the second game. Against Zimbabwe. Babar, come one down but he is not listening. Major flaw in Shaheen Afridi’s fitness. A major flaw in captaincy.”

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A dejected Akhtar further opined, “What kind of cricket do you want to play? For god’s sake, you have lost to Zimbabwe. Don’t you understand your cricket is deteriorating? The management and the PCB chairman don’t have brains … We had to play 4 bowlers, and we played 3 fast bowlers. A proper middle order is needed, you are selecting something else.”

The former pacer was also unimpressed with Pakistan going ahead with Shan Masood and overlooking Fakhar Zaman. Masood has had scores of 52 not out and 44 in the two games.

“Two good openers were needed who can use the 30-yard circle. Fakhar Zaman is sitting there; you didn’t use him. He is a back-foot player, and would do well in Australia…It’s really really embarrassing. Ultimately, it’s not you but we have to face the media. We have to sit in India. We have to give answers to the world. What answers can we give now? No plans, no middle order, no openers … I was saying if Zimbabwe bowled length balls, they would win here. I don’t have trust in this team,” Akhtar added.

At the post-match presentation, Babar said, “We would have taken 130 at the halfway stage. Very disappointing performance, we are not up to the mark in batting. We have good batters but both openers got out in the powerplay. When Shadab and Shan were building partnership, unfortunately Shadab got out and then back-to-back wickets that pushed us into pressure situation. First 6 overs, we haven’t used the new ball well but we finished well with the ball. We will sit out, discuss our mistakes and we will train hard and come back strong in our next game.”