'Ye Rohit nahi hai, uska stunt double hai': Shoaib Akhtar lands scorching 'Shaheen Afridi' sucker-punch at India captain
Shoaib Akhtar minced no words as he talked about Rohit Sharma's struggles while facing Shaheen Afridi.
India once again grappled with their vulnerability against left-arm seamers in their 2023 Asia Cup opener against Pakistan, with Shaheen Afridi haunting them yet again. Shaheen had previously wreaked havoc on India top-order in their 2021 T20 World Cup encounter, and ahead of the ongoing continental tournament, India had also enlisted the services of uncapped Indian left-arm pacer Ankit Chaudhury as a net bowler during their six-day training camp in Alur. However, come the match day, the Indian top-order looked fidgety against the leading Pakistan left-armer and both, captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli fell prey to Shaheen's lethal in-swingers.
After choosing to bat, Rohit had made a promising start before the rain interruption broke his rhythm; upon resumption, Shaheen adjusted his approach, aiming to exploit the pitch's conditions. He swiftly removed Rohit Sharma with a sharply-moving delivery in the third ball. Just an over later, he triumphed over Virat Kohli, marking the second instance in his international career where the legendary batter fell victim to his outside-off delivery, chopping it onto the stumps.
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Rohit was dismissed on the very first delivery he faced against Shaheen in the 2021 T20 World Cup, and has struggled against Pakistan in the four T20I encounters since his 140 against the side in the 2019 World Cup. India will have a rematch with their arch-rivals on Sunday in the Super 4 stage and pressure will be on Rohit once again; former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar, however, expressed his bafflement at the way Rohit has approached his gameplan against Shaheen.
Akhtar believes Shaheen has instilled fear in Rohit's mind, and that the Indian batter is forced to shuffle with his set patterns when he faces the Pakistan pacer.
"Yeh Rohit Sharma woh Rohit Sharma hai hi nahi. Yeh uska stunt double hai. Shaheen uske dimaag mein baith gaya hai. (This is not the same Rohit Sharma. This one's a stunt double. Shaheen has conquered his mind). I have never seen him change his stance, but what was happening there? Stance change kara, beat hua, bowled hua (He changed his stance and got bowled). Shaheen is subconsciously in his mind. This is what pressure of IND vs PAK match does to players,” Shoaib Akhtar said during a virtual press conference organised by Star Sports ahead of The Greatest Rivalry.
Shaheen's lethal opening spell was key to India being reduced to 66/4 in Pallekele before Ishan Kishan (82) and Hardik Pandya (87) rescued the side, eventually steering India to a competitive score of 266.
Big matches coming up
India's aspirations in the Asia Cup Super 4 stage rest heavily on the shoulders of their star batters, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The team embarks on its Super 4 campaign with a rematch against arch-rivals Pakistan, followed by encounters with defending champions Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In the previous year, Sri Lanka clinched victory in the T20 edition of the tournament, while India encountered defeats at the hands of the champions as well as Pakistan during the Super 4.
