Legendary Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has taken a dig at Babar Azam, who is leading the country in the ongoing Asia Cup, after yet another India vs Pakistan match was halted due to the rains in Sri Lanka.
Akhtar has said that it was a wise decision on Babar's part to choose bowling after he won the toss, but added that the Pak bowling attack was saved by the rains. Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill had provided a brilliant start to the Men in Blue, both scoring half-centuries.
Akhtar, who posted his thoughts in a short video on X (formerly Twitter) after rains stopped play yesterday (September 10), said that in the first match between the two sides in the ongoing tournament, it was India who got saved by the rains, but this time around, his own compatriots were the ones who should thank the weather.
Akhtar's exact comment was : “Hey guys, it's me Shoaib, match dekhne aaya tha, hum sare fans bhi wait kar rahe hai, Indians bhi Pakistani bhi. Lekin barish ne bacha liya humein, finally! Pehle India phass gya tha humare aagey, barish ne bacha lia. Aaj hum phas gaye the India ke samne, shukr hai barish ne bach lia." ("Hey guys, it's me Shoaib. Had come to see the match, us fans were waiting, both from the Indian and Pakistani sides. But rain has saved us today, finally! Earlier India were in trouble in front of us, but were saved by the rain. Today we were the ones in trouble in front of India, thanks that rains saved us."
"We will be able to resume this game tomorrow at the same position, and by making a wise decision, not to bowl first," he added.
India were off to a solid start, and had put up a total of 147/2 with Virat Kohli and K L Rahul settling into the crease when the rain gods' wrath prevented the Super Four match from continuing. There were deliberations between the umpires and both teams, while the pitch was also inspected twice. Officials, after the second inspection, decided to reschedule the game.
This means that Indian cricketers will now be playing on three consecutive days. Rohit Sharma's men face Sri Lanka in another Super Four match tomorrow (September 12).
Published 11 September 2023, 08:30 IST