Srinagar: Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has said that he is unable to believe that it is same Rohit Sharma who hit double centuries after his struggles against Shaheen Afridi.
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma once again struggled against Pakistan pace spearhead as he was cleaned up by Shaheen with a ripper. It was like a recap of T20 World Cup.
“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 India vs Pakistan match does to players,” Shoaib Akhtar said during a virtual press conference organised by Star Sports.
The former Pakistan pacer earlier said that Rohit is unable to read or understand the bowling of star pacer Shaheen.
“I think Rohit is unable to read or understand Shaheen. The visual of Rohit Sharma being beaten like this was not good, but he is a far better player than this. Rohit can bat much better than this. I think he is worrying too much,” Akhtar had said on his YouTube channel.
India were bundled out for 266 runs despite fifties from Hardik Pandya (87) and Ishan Kishan (82). Rain interrupted the game more than a couple of times before it was eventually called off.
“The constant interruptions by rain, leading to the players going off the ground and coming back in, it affects the focus of the batters. Gill lost his wicket because of this reason, he lost his concentration, and that is why he played such a loose shot,” said Akhtar.
India and Pakistan will be facing each other next on September 10. It will be a Super 4 match at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo.