‘India couldn’t finalise their XI for 2 years. Batting, bowling everything unsettled’: Shoaib Akhtar expresses dismay
India captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar said they have the picked best team from available resources and the 15-man Indian squad can go all the way to lift the World Cup. Rohit said India have all base covered with four seam-bowling options, two spinners and batting till 8 being their preferred combination. Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar, however, doesn’t believe India has a settled squad. Shoaib, in fact, said neither India’s batting nor India’s bowling have been settled for the last two years.
India’s skipper Rohit Sharma along with Mohammed Shami and Virat Kohli (ANI )
Shoaib Akhtar India still don’t have clarity about their middle-order and choice of seamers. “I don’t know why I have this feeling that India could not pick its final eleven for the past two years. I don’t feel the team is settled because now you all have injuries, three or four people have been replaced and your squad seems unsettled. It’s a strange thing for me that the squad doesn’t seem settled. We still don’t know who are the four main batsmen and who will bat at No.5, will Virat bat at No. 3 or 4?” Shoaib Akhtar said during a virtual press conference organised by Star Sports ahead of The Greatest Rivalry.
Akhtar said India made a big error by not picking leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh in their World Cup squad. “How they have not selected Chahal is beyond me. And again, I think Arshdeep needed to be in the squad because under pressure, when you are playing against someone like Pakistan, then you need that left-handed seamer. But the problem with the Indian team is that when they get out for 150 or 200, it’s not the batsmen but the bowlers who will have to perform. How long will you stretch your batting line-up? If the first five batsmen couldn’t do anything, then what will the No. 7 or No. 8 do? So, I literally believe that you’re playing with one bowler less,” he added.
‘Rohit, Virat will have to score’: Shoaib Akhtar
The Rawalpindi Express said captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will stand up and justify their reputation if India have to succeed in the World Cup.
“I’m all for Rohit. I’m all for Virat Kohli. I’m all for all those players, but every day you have to perform because you’ve got a name. You have to be out there, you have to take command, to do things so that we don’t leave it to the youngsters. These are big names, Rohit and Virat Kohli are huge names, so they will have to perform. So, the bowling squad looks unsettled, the batting squad looks unsettled,” he added.
‘Hardik Pandya can take India cricket to new heights’: Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib, however, was full of praise for Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya, The duo stitched a record fifth-wicket stand to bail India out of trouble in the Asia Cup group stage against Pakistan.
“Ishan Kishan, again, he looks amazing. You know the reason he looks amazing? Because you play him on top or you play him in the middle, his mentality is, ‘I am here for the team and I will score runs for you’. Hardik Pandya turns out to be an asset for India. If we look at his all-round performance, then we feel as a captain, along with Ashish Nehra, he has taken his IPL side to such heights. He took his team to a final and won it and then reached the finals again next year. I think the combination of these two – Ashish Nehra and Pandya as a captain – can take India to new heights,” he added.
