“Indian bowling has been exposed” - Shoaib Akhtar slams Hardik Pandya & Shivam Dube for their expensive spells vs SA

Former Pakistan pacer and commentator Shoaib Akhtar has lashed out at the Indian bowling attack after their 76-run defeat to South Africa in their first Super8 clash of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, which is currently underway in India and Sri Lanka.

Speaking on Tapmad, Akhtar was critical of the all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube, who leaked 67 runs in their six-over spell. He went on to add that they lacked pace and intimidation against the South African batting line-up in their Super8 clash.

“Hardik and Shivam Dube were bowling at around 120 kmph. It’s not as if they are Malcolm Marshall, someone who would intimidate a batting line-up of South Africa’s calibre. If you deploy them in the death overs, such a counterattack from the Proteas is inevitable,” Shoaib Akhtar said on Tapmad.

Additionally, Akhtar reckoned that the Indian bowling was exposed, adding that Varun Chakravarthy’s pace got dropped after he was hit for a no-look shot by Dewald Brevis. Furthermore, he felt that Kuldeep Yadav should be picked in the playing XI.

“Indian bowling has been exposed. If you look at Varun, whose strength is bowling at 97-98 kmph, he was clocking 94. And when he came into the attack, he was hit for a no-look six by Dewald Brevis,” he added.

“The missing link here is Kuldeep Yadav. He is someone who can deceive batters in the air and pick up wickets when needed. He is a proven match-winner,” he concluded.

India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.

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