Srinagar: Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar known for his straight talk, has said that he thinks India captain Rohit Sharma is unable to read or understand Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi.
Rohit Sharma once again fell to Shaheen Afridi on Saturday in the match of Asia Cup 2023 between India and Pakistan.
India put a dampener in the game, posted a total of 266 runs, losing all their wickets in 48.5 overs. Ishan played a pivotal role with his 82 runs off 81 balls, while Pandya contributed 87. Together, they forged a remarkable 138-run partnership for the fifth wicket after India were left reeling at 66/4 after opting to bat in Pallekele.
India endured a poor start to the game as captain Rohit Sharma, who had looked positive before the first rain break, was castled by Shaheen in the fifth over. Pitching the ball around off, Shaheen got it to nip it back into the right-hander and successfully beat Rohit’s defence.
Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar wasn’t too pleased with the way Rohit was dismissed in the Asia Cup encounter, insisting that the Indian skipper can “do much better.”
“What a spell it was by Shaheen Afridi, what a bowler he is. Everyone knows what he will do, pitch it full and bring it back in, and in spite of that Rohit Sharma had no answer. But, what is Rohit Sharma supposed to do, in his defence he had last played him in 2022, he does not get the opportunity to face him too often,” Akhtar began as he talked about the game on his official YouTube channel.
“I don’t think Rohit is able to read or understand Shaheen at all. The visual of Rohit Sharma being beaten like this was not good, he is a far better player than this. Rohit can bat much better than this, I think he is worrying too much.”
The abandoned match means both teams shared points, with Pakistan securing a berth in the Super Fours. Babar Azam’s men became the first to clinch the spot in the next round, and India will be aiming to join them when they take on Nepal in the last game of Group A.
