Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has made some shocking statements while attacking the Indian cricket team and skipper Virat Kohli. The legendary Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram has claimed that the Indian cricketers don’t take international cricket seriously and think that playing only in IPL is enough.
Wasim Akram’s statements came after team India suffered their second consecutive win in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021. India suffered an embarrassing defeat by 8-wickets against New Zealand on Sunday. The loss has almost knocked Team India out of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Wasim Akram, who holds the record for most ODI wickets, highlighted the fact that prior to the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021, the last time India played a big international limited-overs series the senior players played was back in March against England.
Though the Indian players took part in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League, but no amount of league practice can help a cricketer match the standards of international cricket. Akram said:
“India last played a limited-overs series with all the senior players in March. Now we are in November. So that shows they are not taking those international series seriously. They think playing the IPL is enough. You play as much league cricket in the world that you want. While playing league cricket, you will find one or two good bowlers in the opposition. In international cricket, you will face all five good bowlers,”
Further, Akram talked about how India played three ODIs and three T20Is in Sri Lanka around July end, but the squad was filled with youngsters since the senior players were participating in the Test series in England.
Further, Wasim Akram reckoned that losing the toss deflated team India in the first place, however, it worsened when the management decided to send Rohit Sharma at No. 3. He said:
“It wasn’t a great game. It was a one-sided game. India committed a lot of mistakes. When they lost the toss, I feel they were pushed back a little psychologically. The biggest mess-up was downgraded Rohit Sharma to 3 in a crucial, do-or-die game. The guy has got four centuries in T20Is as opener. They could have made Ishan Kishan bat at 3 too. This was the start when the panic button was pressed,”
The Indian cricket team will now lock horns with the Afghanistan cricket team in Abu Dhabi.
