Shoaib Akhtar Criticizes Comparisons Between Babar Azam, Rizwan and Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma

Shoaib Akhtar didn't hold back his criticism and heavily criticized the Pakistan batsmen for failing to deliver when it mattered most in crucial matches on the biggest stages. The devastating six-wicket loss to arch-rivals India has once again raised questions about Pakistan's ability to perform under pressure in ICC events. Despite high expectations, key players like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and others faltered in the highly anticipated clash against India, putting the hosts on the brink of elimination from the tournament.

Over the past few years, players like Babar, Rizwan and Khushdil were tagged as talented players who could take Pakistan cricket forward. However, Akhtar slammed the players with the 'talent' tag associated with them.

“Kaunsa talent? Kaunsa talent hai? Kis cheez ka? (Which talent, what kind of talent?)” Akhtar said on Career TV's YouTube channel.

The former pacer slammed the Pakistan batsmen and said they are not comparable to Indian superstars like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer.

“Would you rate Babar to Virat Kohli? Iyer to Khushdil Shah? Rohit Sharma to Fakhar Zaman? Our Rizwan, which one is the talent? Talents are displayed. It’s not about talking, you have to deliver," he added.

Babar, who often gets compared to Kohli by some Pakistan fans, scored only 23 runs from 26 balls against India as his team suffered a second consecutive loss in the Champions Trophy.

The paceman asserted that it's crucial for the players to showcase their talent on the big stage to become match-winners for their side.

"No one becomes a star in the dark, you have to take wickets and score runs. I have been hearing there is talent for the last 10 years, if there was talent, it would’ve been on display,” he added.

"Pakistan’s got talent, planning is very poor"

However, former skipper Mohammad Hafeez insisted that the Pakistan team still has the talent, but the planning has been up to the mark and slammed the selectors for not picking the ideal team for the Champions Trophy conditions.

“Pakistan’s got talent. Planning is very poor. By choice, we don’t keep a quality opener and extra spinners. We have dominated the conditions for nine or 10 years as a home team. We should know what is the winning mantra here [in Dubai]. We don’t have a second spinner. We take a mystery spinner, who can’t be a big turner. No mystery spinner is one by default. We have no finger and wrist spinners. The ones we have are non-regular," he said during the same discussion.

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