Oct 26, 2022, 21:14 IST

Shoaib Akhtar makes a huge statement on Indian openers ahead of the game against Holland

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In a few hours , India take on Netherlands in their 2nd game of the tournament. The game to be played on Thursday will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It is a crucial match for both the teams. India come into the game after beating Pakistan on Sunday. Netherlands on the other hand lost their first game of their Super 12 stage against Bangladesh. Before the Netherlands, former Pakistan pacer has made a huge comment on Indian players.

The story so far –

Former Pakistan pacer, Shoaib Akhtar has always been in the eye of the storm as far as his comments are concerned. Akhtar recently said that Virat Kohli needs to retire from T20I cricket. This came after Kohli played a monumental knock against Pakistan and scored 82* off 53 balls to give India win by 4 wickets in the last ball of the game.

Shoaib Akhtar has his say on Indian players –

Indian captain Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul have been under the eye of the storm for their performance against Pakistan. The duo fell for single digit scores as the pair fell early to Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.

Speaking about the Indian openers, Shoaib Akhtar said “India openers ki baat karenge, thore dabe lag rahe hai, thode dare-dare lag rahe hai. Rohit Sharma as a captain apne aap ko calm down kare, apni batting gawa raha hai aur KL Rahul jyada focus karke khudko fasa raha hai, wo na kar”

Rohit under renewed pressure –

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is under new and renewed pressure as he failed to perform in the big game on Sunday. Rohit was caught in the slips trying to steer the ball to the 3rd man region to be dismissed by Haris Rauf. The Indian skipper hasn’t shown a consistent form with the bat with his last half century coming against Sri Lanka during the 2022 Asia Cup.

Time for KL Rahul to deliver in the big stage –

One of the key batters who has been under the microscope for a while is 30 year old KL Rahul. The right handed batter has been in decent nick with the bat during the home series against Australia. He scored a half century in the warm up game as well, but the 30 year old inside edged a ball from Shah onto his stumps.

Rahul hasn’t performed well in the ICC events and the Indian fans will hope that both Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul come good on Thursday. A win against Netherlands will put India on a pedestal and give them confidence before the game against South Africa on Sunday. 

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