'One with Kohli, one against Kohli': Shoaib Akhtar says there may be 'two camps' within Indian cricket team
Former Pakistan bowler Shoaib Akhtar believes there may be two camps within Team India and said the team looks divided.
Pakistan bowling legend Shoaib Akhtar expressed surprised over India's dismal performance in the ongoing T20 World Cup, and said that there appears to be divisions within the team. Akhtar's remarks came after Virat Kohli & co. lost their second Group 2 match against New Zealand on Sunday by 8 wickets.
It was India's second straight defeat in the tournament, as the Kiwis chased down the total of 111 set up by India in just 14.3 overs. Team India had previously lost to arch-rivals Pakistan by 10 wickets, thus making it hard for them to qualify for the semifinals.
Speaking in a video on his Youtube channel, Akhtar said that there may be two camps within Indian team, one of which may be against Kohli. The former fast bowler also said that everyone should respect Kohli as he is a great cricketer, despite him making some bad decisions in the first two games.
“Why I can see that there are two camps within the team? One is with the Kohli and one against Kohli. It's crystal clear. The team is looking divided. I don't know why this is happening. Maybe it's because of his last T20 World Cup as a skipper. Maybe he made wrong decisions, which is true. But he's a great cricketer, and we have to respect him,” Akhtar said.
The former fast bowler also criticised Team India for their attitude against New Zealand, saying the players looked deflated after losing the toss.
"Yes criticism is important because they played bad cricket against New Zealand and had the wrong attitude. Yesterday, after they lost the toss, everyone's heads were down.
"They had no idea whatsoever. India, you only lost the toss by that time, not the whole match. They were just present there, and had no gameplan whatsoever." Akhtar signed off.
Inia will play their third game at the T20 World Cup against Afghanistan on Wednesday.