Wasim Akram Reckons Virat Kohli’s Team India Take IPL Seriously & Not International Cricket

Dubai: Following two consecutive losses, ex-Pakistan bowler Wasim Akram reckons Virat Kohli and his team think IPL is enough and hence do not lay a lot of emphasis on international cricket. He explained that in league cricket one would face one or two good bowlers whereas, in international cricket, there would be five.

“India last played a limited-overs series with all the senior players in March. Now we are in November. So that shows they are not taking those international series seriously. They think playing the IPL is enough. You play as much league cricket in the world that you want. While playing league cricket, you will find one or two good bowlers in the opposition. In international cricket, you will face all five good bowlers,” Akram said on A Sports following India’s defeat to New Zealand.

Akram also felt that Rohit Sharma – who is an opener – should not have played at No 3 in a do-or-die game. Instead, Akram reckons Ishan Kishan should have played first-down.

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“It wasn’t a great game. It was a one-sided game. India committed a lot of mistakes. When they lost the toss, I feel they were pushed back a little psychologically. The biggest mess-up was downgraded Rohit Sharma to 3 in a crucial, do-or-die game. The guy has got four centuries in T20Is as opener. They could have made Ishan Kishan bat at 3 too. This was the start when the panic button was pressed,” Akram pointed out.

India now takes on Afghanistan on Wednesday. They have three games left and need to win all by big margins and then hope New Zealand loses against either Afghanistan, Scotland, or Namibia.