'Their bowling was exposed very badly'- Shoaib Akhtar lays into India after embarrassing defeat against England

India's harrowing loss to England in the semi-final in Adelaide prolonged their drought for an ICC trophy since 2013. But the manner of the defeat turned heads in the cricketing fraternity, exposing the Indian bowling contingent. Former Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar laid into the Indian team, saying they deserved to lose after playing lousy cricket.

While Rohit Sharma's men scraped to a decent total after batting first in the match, reality kicked in during England's chase when Jos Buttler and Alex Hales went hammer and tonks against the Indian pacers in the powerplay. Shoaib Akhtar expressed that a lack of a rapid pacer on bowling-friendly conditions exposed India's fast bowling. The ex-Pakistani cricketer was also bewildered by the non-selection of star-leggie Yuzvendra Chahal for any of the matches in the tournament.

“It’s a very embarrassing loss for India. They played terribly and they deserved to lose and didn’t deserve to qualify for the finals. India were beaten very badly. Their bowling was exposed very badly. These conditions are helpful for fast bowling, and India don’t have an express pacer. I am not sure why they didn’t play Chahal in a single match. It’s a confusing team selection for India,” Akhtar was quoted as saying in his video.

Hardik Pandya is an emerging captain and he has a chance of being permanent: Akhtar

The former tearaway pacer remarked that the Indian bowlers capitulated under pressure once the English openers took the attack to them. They did not try anything different and kept on hoping for a mistake from the batters. The lack of aggression cost them dearly. He also stated that Hardik Pandya, who has been named the stand-in skipper for the New Zealand series, has the potential to take over from Rohit Sharma on a permanent basis.

“It was a really bad day for India as their heads went down after they lost the toss. When England batted their first five overs, the Indians raised their hands. At least, India should have tried to fight, come round the wicket and bowl bouncers. They showed no aggression whatsoever,” he stated. “There is a lot to think about for Indian cricket. Hardik Pandya is an emerging captain for New Zealand and he has a chance of being permanent,” Akhtar added.