'They should understand bhook hoti kya hai' - Wasim Akram reveals main reason behind India's 20-20 World Cup 2022 exit

Wasim Akram (Source: Twitter)

India had a heartbreaking loss to England by 10 wickets in the 20-20 World Cup semi-final to the Three Lions. While there were a lot of factors to pinpoint about India’s loss which included some of the weird selection calls that were made. Wasim Akram pointed to a different angle that led to the crushing defeat.

He went on to say that there was a significant drop in pace by the Indian bowlers which made him seethe in anger. He also said that this made it easy for Jos Butler and Alex Hales to run away with the match who made a record 170-run stand. 

In a discussion with A sports about India’s World Cup exit. Here is what he had to say: “Something I noted about Indian bowlers during Asia Cup. They drop pace post Indian T20 League. For instance, Avesh Khan was bowling consistently at 145kmph but after one season of Indian T20 League they play the pace drops to 130-135 kmph. So the Indian Cricket Board need to check the reason behind that because he got paid some 12-13 crore Indian money.”

Why are the Indian bowlers bowling slow? Wasim Akram

“I think Indian T20 League need to have a pay cap for young players so that they understand bhook hoti kya hai, what it feels to be hungry. If I was earning ₹24 crores a month in Pakistan, then I don’t think I will work that hard once my job is done. The culture we come from, hum khud ko dheela chhod dete hai.”( We end up taking ourselves lightly) He added.

Waqar Younis also added his insight to the discussion when he said that pace is the main arsenal of a fast bowler and that he always encouraged them to work on their pace. “I don’t know exactly why they are dropping pace but when I used to play and then worked as a coach,” he said. “I always emphasised on bowling quickly. If you are quick then bowl quick, that’s what Wasim and I did throughout our careers. If you have pace, you learn the other bits. But if you slow it down and swing the ball, then somewhere T20 cricket and modern-day coaching is at fault for that. I don’t know what’s being taught in the Indian camp but pace matters.”