Former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar criticized Indian media for their harsh criticism of the Indian team after their second consecutive loss in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021 as they lost to New Zealand by 8 wickets in Dubai on October 31st.
While condemning the “unnecessary pressure” put by Indian media, Akhtar lamented in his YouTube video:
“I’m not taking their defense but what I am getting is that the criticism team India is currently facing and the unnecessary pressure Indian media has put onto them, it’s not great. I don’t like it at all. Tell me one thing, did the Indian team ever say that the media should boast about them?”
“Comon, why this much misconduct. It is an injustice to the team that the media presents them in such a way that the Indian team can’t ever lose a single game, they are the pride of India and whatnot.”
“If The Same Indian Team Would’ve Won The Game, The Media Would’ve Taken Them Into Sky” – Shoaib Akhtar
Furthermore, Akhtar said that the same Indian media which is at the throats of the Indian team players after their two back-to-back losses in the T20 World Cup would have glorified the Indian team if they would’ve won their matches.
Akhtar lambasted Indian news channels for gaining views on the back of heavily criticizing their Indian cricket team. In his video, Akhtar said:
“And after all the hype around the team, if India loses a match, even then, the media benefits from it. They gained huge TRP by criticizing the Indian team. I was watching Indian media, and everyone was bashing the team and were citing that they only want to play IPL for money. That’s not fair, man. Yes, they’ve lost those matches but of course, they didn’t lose it intentionally.”
“Firstly, they build the hype and then they slam the team. If the same team would’ve won the game, then the same media would’ve taken them into the sky.”
Kohli and Co. still have hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages, but they would need to win their remaining three matches by huge margins and would need New Zealand to lose a couple of matches, to have an outside chance.
