IND vs PAK, World Cup 2023: 'There's not enough talent!' Shoaib Akhtar slams Pakistan batting collapse

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Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar couldn't hide his disappointment after the dismal show by Pakistan batting line-up against India in a high-octane clash of the ICC World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

Pakistan, who were keeping themselves on the route for a good total at 155/2 in the 29th over, lost all their last eight wickets for a mere 36 runs while five Indian bowlers took two wickets apiece to catch Pakistan by surprise on all the front.

Barring Babar Azam's half-century and Mohammad Rizwan's 49, the rest of the batters struggled to get going. The poor display left retired Pakistan bowler Shoaib Akhtar baffled, who felt the wicket had 300-plus runs on offer and believed India would have done exactly that if they batted first.

"Bhot hi buri batting Pakistan k janab se (Very poor batting by Pakistan)," said Shoaib Akhtar on his YouTube channel. "It was a good wicket with 325-340 runs on the offer but Pakistan didn't capitalise despite getting a good start."

Akhtar, who was known for his express pace and took 400-odd wickets for Pakistan, felt Rohit Sharma was wrong with his decision to field first as India would have scored 350 runs on the surface as they are playing the match with eight batters while Pakistan lacked the talent to score big.

"I don't think the decision to field first was right by Rohit Sharma as they would have scored 350 runs comfortably. Having said that, Pakistan played just four batters and had no middle order with the dependence on the likes of Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed. I don't think this Pakistan batting line-up has the quality to put up big scores against big teams like India," ranted Akhtar.

Akhtar further praised Indian spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav for not allowing the Pakistan batters to open up their arm and kept them in a shell throughout the game but he largely blamed the Pakistan batters for having the quality to inspire a show in the game after the dismissal of Rizwan and Babar.