Cricket News

‘Indian team needs a leader’- Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi criticises India’s cricketing structure for ‘failing to build a team’

Team India’s wait for a major trophy still continues after their humiliating World Cup ouster in the semi-final. India lost by a massive 10 wickets against England and has failed to win another world event since the 2013 Champions Trophy.

After India’s loss, questions are being asked of the captain, coach and team management. Rohit Sharma was seen dejected after the loss and could not attend the post-match press conference. It was the Team India head coach Rahul Dravid who came to address the journalists after the semi-final loss.

Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi has opined that Rohit Sharma remaining in the background after the team’s loss is not a good look. Afridi during an interaction on Pakistan’s Samaa TV noted: “These things will now be noticed, when you win these things are brushed under the carpet. Today India lost and everyone’s reflecting on the loss. But if we look closely, the Indian team need a leader after Ganguly and Dhoni. Someone, who leads the team from the front. After Dhoni, they tried Virat but they didn’t achieve outstanding results. Right now Rohit is the captain and we still don’t see any commendable performances.

The former all-rounder has also criticised India’s cricket board for their failure to build a tournament-winning team.

“A leader’s role is extremely important, their performances are very crucial. IPL is played for over two months, and a lot of players get the opportunity and despite that if India are failing to build a team, then in my opinion, they have a lot of work to do. The board needs to think, where are we making mistake, because they’ve invested a lot of money in cricket and a lot of players have also emerged. If you don’t go out and win big tournaments, then it is a sign of worry,” concluded Shahid Afridi.