“Pakistan will be knocked out in the first round of the World Cup” – Shoaib Akhtar

It seems that the Pakistani team, who finished the Asia Cup series as runners-up, is in a major slump due to the main problem they have been facing. Last week, the host team Pakistan lost the series 4-3 in their home country against England.

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said that the loss of the last Twenty20 series they faced before the World Cup in their home country could be a big blow to the World Cup as well.

He had uploaded a video on his YouTube channel in which Akhtar said that there is a high possibility of Pakistan getting out of the World Cup in the first round.

“As I said earlier, this Pakistan team can be thrown out of the World Cup in the first round. I am afraid of that.” Akhtar said.

Apart from the Babar-Rizwan combination, the rest of Pakistan’s batting line-up suffered a major setback in the Asia Cup as well, but they had no choice but to replace Shan Masood in the squad.

Akhtar said that while Shan Masood was successful in the recent England series, the failure of the middle order batsmen led by Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah and Mohammad Asif will limit the Pakistan team’s World Cup journey.

“Pakistan’s middle order is not good. If Pakistan’s opening batsmen don’t perform, the middle order is under pressure. If you want to win the World Cup, this is not the way to go to a World Cup. It is very sad,” said Akhtar.

Apart from Akhtar, former Pakistani players like Wasim Akram and Waka Younis also said that the collapse of the middle order batting of the Pakistani team is an obstacle to a long journey in the World Cup.