The Indian top order collapsed in an Asia Cup 2023 game against Pakistan on Saturday. The Indian team who decided to bat first at Pallekele, were reeling at 66/4 in 15 overs. The setback started when Rohit Sharma got out by Shaheen Shah Afridi in the 5th over of the match. The Indian skipper who started carefully got dismissed right after the forced rain break, Kudos to an inswinger bowled by Shaheen Afridi that crashed into Rohit's stumps. Talking about Rohit’s wicket, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar said that the Indian skipper has not been able to decode Shaheen Afridi's bowling at all.
"I don't think Rohit is able to read or understand Shaheen at all. The visual of Rohit Sharma being beaten like this was not good, he is a far better player than this. Rohit can bat much better than this, I think he is worrying too much," Akhtar said on his YouTube channel.
The former pacer also highlighted the interruptions created by rain must have broken Rohit’s concentration.
"The constant interruptions by rain, leading to the players going off the ground and coming back in, it affects the focus of the batters. Gill lost his wicket exactly because of this reason, he lost his concentration, and that is why he played such a loose shot," Akhtar said.
The former speedster also praised Shaheen Afridi for his brilliant bowling. Afridi wreaked havoc with the ball by picking up four important wickets. He took the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja from the Indian batting line-up.
"What a spell it was by Shaheen Afridi, what a bowler he is. Everyone knows what he will do, pitch it full and bring it back in, and in spite that Rohit Sharma had no answer. But, what is Rohit Sharma supposed to do, in his defence he had last played him in 2022, he does not get the opportunity to face him too often," Akhtar added.