Shoaib Akhtar Slams Pakistan Captain Agha Salman Ali Agha For Blunder vs India

Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar slammed his side's skipper, Salman Ali Agha, for opting to bat first against India in the Asia Cup 2025 match in the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, September 14. The Pakistan skipper's decision backfired on him only as his side failed to put up a big target against the Men in Blue. Salman Ali Agha's team managed to score only 127/9 in 20 overs, with Sahibzada Farhan being the top scorer from their side with 40 runs. When India came to bat, they chased down the target in just 15.5 overs with seven wickets in hand.

The Indian spinners had a dominating performance against Pakistan as Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav took two and three wickets, respectively. Later, when India came to chase the target, they also lost three wickets during the chase and were taken by Saim Ayub.

The pitch in Dubai has been favoring spinners a bit more since the start of the tournament, and Salman's decision to bat first left Akhtar confused.

He said,

"Good luck to them. Suryakumar Yadav ne poori pitch report di hai toss par. Usne kaha, 'Baad mein dew aayega. Ball bat par accha aata hai tab, humari batting lambi hai. Hum chase hi karna chahte the, hum pehle bowling hi karna chahte the. Par humare Einstein ne kaha humay pehle batting karni hai."

Further, Akhtar slammed the Indian team for not doing a handshake after the game.

He said,

"I'm speechless. It is disheartening to see, and I don't know what to say. Hats off to India. Just don't make things political. Cricket match hai, isko political mat banao. Hum ne acchi statement di hai aapke liye. Hum bohot kuch bol sakte hai. Hoti rehti hai ladayi jhagre, ghar mei bhi ho jati hain. (Don't make a cricket match political. We have said nice things about you. We can say a lot of things about the no handshake. Fights happen, even inside the house. Forget it; move on. It is the game of cricket. shake your hands, show your grace)."