Indian pacer Mohammed Shami took a dig a former Pakistani cricketer, Shoaib Akhtar, after Pakistan lost the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 final against England on Sunday, 13 November, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Akhtar tweeted a ‘heartbreak’ emoji after the green shirts’ five-wicket defeat, to which Shami replied “Sorry brother. It’s call karma.”
Incidentally, Shami’s tweet comes a few days after he was criticised by Akhtar. In the semi-final match against England, India conceded 170 runs in 16 overs without picking up any wickets. Among others, Shami was also ineffective with the ball.
The veteran conceded 39 runs in three overs, and was India’s second-most expensive bowler in the semi-final. Following India’s defeat, Akhtar criticised India’s bowling unit and raised questions about the selection of Shami.
“Indian cricket is at the lowest right now because when it comes to ICC events, India ko apni kaptaani dekhni hogi, management ko blame lena hoga. Bowling department me confusing selection ke saath Shami ko uthaake le aaye. Achhe fast bowler hain lekin banta nahi tha. (India need to have a look at the captaincy in ICC events, the team management should take the blame. The bowling department’s selection was confusing – they picked up Shami from nowhere. He is a good fast bowler, but didn’t deserve to selected),” Akhtar said.
Besides responding to Akhtar, Shami also congratulated England on winning the trophy and praised Pakistan’s bowling, by tweeting “Congratulations @ECB_cricket @josbuttler. A well deserved win for England in #T20WorldCupFinal.@benstokes38 played a brilliant innings. Some great bowling by @TheRealPCB
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