Team India faced a harsh defeat at the hands of England in the T20 World Cup semi-final on Thursday. Unbeaten half-centuries from openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales helped England register an emphatic 10-wicket victory, as Indian hopes for a second title in the tournament were crushed. India had put 168/6 on the board after being invited to bat and the English openers chased down the target with 24 balls to spare.
It was an uninspired performance from the team throughout the game, and former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar strongly criticised Rohit Sharma's men for their outing in Adelaide. Akhtar believes Indian cricket is at its “lowest” and that the side “didn't deserve” to meet Pakistan in the final. Babar Azam's side had defeated New Zealand in the first semi-final to book its place in the titular clash at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
“Indian fast bowling ke paas express fast bowlers nahi hai. Cut-throat spinners nahi hain. Confusing selection ke saath India andar gaya, aur badi maar khaayi. Conditions ke fast bowlers hain India ke, jahan conditions mil gayi toh khelte rahenge. Lekin very disappointing performance from India. India doesn't deserve to meet us in MCG, or allowed to take a flight to come to Melbourne, because unki cricket aaj expose hui hai. (India don't have express fast bowlers or impactful spinners. They had a confusing selection. Their pacers can perform if conditions suit them.),” Akhtar said on his official YouTube channel.
“Semifinal tak pohochna kaunsi badi baat hai? 4 achhi teams hain total, unme se bhi Netherlands ko haraana ya Zimbabwe ko haraake pohoch jaana... koi badi baat nahi hai. Indian cricket is at the lowest right now because when it comes to ICC events, India ko apni kaptaani dekhni hogi, management ko blame lena hoga, bowling department me confusing selection ke saath Shami ko uthaake le aaye. Achhe fast bowler hain lekin banta nahi tha. (What's so big in reaching semis? There were 4 good teams in total. You beat Netherlands and Zimbabwe, nothing big. India need to look at their leadership, management needs to take accountability. It was a confusing selection),” Akhtar further said.
{{/usCountry}}“Semifinal tak pohochna kaunsi badi baat hai? 4 achhi teams hain total, unme se bhi Netherlands ko haraana ya Zimbabwe ko haraake pohoch jaana... koi badi baat nahi hai. Indian cricket is at the lowest right now because when it comes to ICC events, India ko apni kaptaani dekhni hogi, management ko blame lena hoga, bowling department me confusing selection ke saath Shami ko uthaake le aaye. Achhe fast bowler hain lekin banta nahi tha. (What's so big in reaching semis? There were 4 good teams in total. You beat Netherlands and Zimbabwe, nothing big. India need to look at their leadership, management needs to take accountability. It was a confusing selection),” Akhtar further said.
{{/usCountry}}India's last ICC trophy came way back in 2013 under the leadership of MS Dhoni, when the side had defeated England in the final of the Champions Trophy. Barring the 2021 T20 World Cup where India made a group stage exit, the side faced defeats in knock-out stages in all other ICC tournaments across formats.