'Some relief for the Pakistan fans including me that...' - Shoaib Akhtar takes dig at Team India's loss against Bangladesh in Super 4 match

Former legendary Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar didn’t mince his words while taking a dig at the Indian team after they lost in the last Asia Cup 2023 super-4 match against Bangladesh. The men in blue won the flip of the coin and asked Shakib Al Hasan’s men to bat first at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Bangladesh posted a total of 265 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in the allotted 50 overs courtesy of skipper Shakib Al Hasan’s brilliant knock of 80 runs, alongside Towhid Hridoy’s 54 runs. While chasing the target, India couldn’t chase down the target and got all out on the score of 259 runs; eventually, they lost the match by a close margin of 6 runs before heading to the final against Sri Lanka.

"You can't take teams lightly after winning a few games." - Shoaib Akhtar on India

Returning to Shoaib Akhtar’s statement, he called it an embarrassing loss. Apart from that, he also reckoned the participation of Bangladesh in the Asia Cup 2023 and their potential to beat any team on their day.

"India have lost the game. Embarrassing loss. We can't criticise too much. Bangladesh are here to play. People were criticising Pakistan, saying that they got beaten up. Sri Lanka are a good team, not an average team. The same is the case with Bangladesh. They are all playing international cricket. Finally, some relief for the Pakistan fans, including me, that India have lost the game,” said Akhtar in a video on his YouTube channel.

"What a wake-up call for India before the final. You can't take teams lightly after winning a few games. No disrespect to them but Bangladesh made a statement that they are here to prove a point," he added later.

Now, Rohit Sharma’s men will take on the hosts Sri Lanka in the summit clash of the 16^th edition of the continental championship. India will be eyeing their 8^th title in the history of the Asia Cup. If India win, it will be the second consecutive win of India in the ODI Asia Cup under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma after ODI Asia Cup 2023.