Asia Cup 2022: 'Both teams tried their best to lose' - Shoaib Akhtar after India-Pakistan match

An evidently disappointed Shoaib Akhtar has lashed out at India and Pakistan for the quality of cricket the two arch-rivals showcased in their Asia Cup opener. Akhtar remarked, 'Both teams had given their all to lose the match but unfortunately India couldn't lose.'

The Pakistani legend on his Youtube channel called out the decisions made by the two captains, questioning their team selection. While he was unhappy with Rishabh Pant being left out, he slammed Pakistan captain Babar Azam for sending Iftikhar Ahmed at no. 4. He further suggested to the Men in Green that Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman should open and Azam should come in at No. 3.

The Rawalpindi Express further criticised Rohit Sharma's decision of promoting Ravindra Jadeja to No. 4, and questioned 'why did the team not send Suryakumar, Hardik, or Pant.'

While Dinesh Karthik was picked in place of Rishabh Pant, the Indian skipper sent Ravindra Jadeja 2 down in a bid to have a left-right combination at the crease. India eventually emerged victorious by 5 wickets with Hardik Pandya scoring an unbeaten 17-ball 33.

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