Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar came down hard on India’s bowling line-up following their 76-run defeat against South Africa in the Super 8 fixture. The Men in Blue failed to chase down the 188-run target set by the Proteas, denting their chances of making it to the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals without any struggles. Akhtar claimed that India’s bowling weakness had been exposed in the game against SA and that they would have to pull up their socks.
India’s bowlers not good enough?
In a video on Tapmad, Akhtar pointed out that Hardik and Dube weren’t at the level of a Malcolm Marshall and that they couldn’t intimidate players. The former Pakistan player reckoned that deploying them in the death overs will not be effective and that South Africa were bound to dominate.
“Indian bowling has been exposed. If you look at Varun, whose strength is bowling at 97-98 kmph, he was clocking 94. And when he came into the attack, he was hit for a no-look six by Dewald Brevis. Indian bowling got exposed today. Hardik and Shivam Dube were bowling at around 120 kmph. It’s not as if they are Malcolm Marshall – someone who would intimidate you. If you deploy them in the death overs, such a counterattack from the Proteas is inevitable. Pandya gave away 45 runs today.” Akhtar said.
Hardik conceded 45 runs from his 4 overs while going wicketless. Dube, on the other hand, was slammed for 32 runs from his two overs. The standout bowler for India was undoubtedly Jasprit Bumrah with his spell of 3/15 from four overs. Arshdeep managed to pick two wickets while he conceded 28 runs in his four-over spell. As a result of the heavy loss against SA, India find themselves at a must-win position in their remaining Super 8 fixtures against ZIM and WI in order to stand a chance of making it to the T20 World Cup 2026 semis.
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