Legendary fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was left fuming after hosts Pakistan lost to India in the Champions Trophy 2025 on Sunday. Pakistan’s fast bowlers weren’t effective against Indian batters which saw them lose the match by 6 wickets with 45 balls remaining.
Akhtar slammed the Pakistan team management for playing just one specialist spinner in the match. He sent his message to management via a video on x, where he called the team management brainless and clueless.
“I am not disappointed at all (on Pakistan losing) because I knew what was going to happen. When you don’t play 5 full-time bowlers, this is supposed to happen. The world is playing 5 good bowlers, but you select all-rounders.”
“I don’t know what you are thinking. I think that this is a brainless and clueless management. I am really disappointed. What should I tell the kids? They are just the way the management is,” Shoaib Akhtar said in a video posted on X.
I’m not disappointed at all. pic.twitter.com/Hmc38V03KJ
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) February 23, 2025
“Intent is different. They just do not have the skills. Neither do they know, nor does the management. They have just gone to play the tournament, just like that. No one knows anything,” Shoaib Akhtar added.
He also pointed out that India have carried a spin-heavy side with them in the Champions Trophy. Apart from Kuldeep Yadav, India has Varun Chakravarthy in the squad, who could be introduced in the playing 11 in latter stages of the tournament.
India always plays with at least 6 bowlers in the lineup. With the likes of Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja have the ability to bowl 10 overs, but the same cannot be said about their Pakistani counterparts.
Meanwhile Pakistan pacers Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Naseem Shah gave away 163 runs in their defence of 241. Only Shaheen was able to pick up 2 wickets in the game, while Rauf and Naseem went wicketless.
Rizwan blamed him and the team management for not playing 5 specialist bowlers and an additional spinner in the line-up.
Speaking in the post match conference, Rizwan said, “Listen to me, you take one spinner with you. You can’t take five genuine bowlers in the ODI. Naseem, Shaheen, Haris, Abrar.”
“You see the New Zealand team playing against Bracewell, and here you see Axar Patel and Jadeja,” Rizwan said after the match.
“So, whoever plays the best, the selection committee in Pakistan selects them, like Salman Ali Agha and Khushdil Shah.”
“They can bat and also bowl. So, if you go for specialists, that means four genuine bowlers and six general batsmen – which doesn’t make any combination.”
“Your questions are correct in their place – but I’ll say the same thing: you can’t go with five bowlers, in T20 maybe you can, but ODI is a long format in which you can’t go that way,” he concluded.
Pakistan will have to play their next match against Bangladesh on February 27 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
