Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has shared his thoughts ahead of the much-awaited clash between New Zealand and Afghanistan in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021. Akhtar reckoned if Afghanistan manage to beat the Black Caps, then many questions will be raised.
Notably, the New Zealand-Afghanistan match will decide Team India‘s fate in the multi-team tournament. The highly-anticipated contest will be played in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Not to mention, If New Zealand win, they will be through to the semi-final of the global showpiece event from Group 2, where Pakistan have already booked a place in the knockout stage. However, if Afghanistan clinch the victory, India will have a great chance of making it to the final four, given if the ‘Men in Blue’ manage to register triumph in their remaining fixture against Namibia.
“If New Zealand lose to Afghanistan, then many questions will be raised. Let me warn you beforehand, many questions will be raised. I fear it would start another trending news on social media. I don’t want to get into more controversies, I don’t want to talk on these topics, but the sentiments of Pakistani people are too high in New Zealand,” said Akhtar on his YouTube channel.
“I think New Zealand is a better team than Afghanistan, god forbid, if they don’t win, there will be a problem, no one will be able to stop what’s being said on social media,” he added.
Akhtar also heaped praises on India’s comeback in the T20 competition, stating the tournament has come alive after their win over Afghanistan and Scotland. The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ mentioned there are now some chances of an Indo-Pak clash once again in the tournament.
“I really think this tournament has headed to an interesting phase. India coming back has made the tournament come back alive. There is a chance now that India will play Pakistan again. We have to wait and see. It will be good for cricket and good for the youngsters if that happens,” Akhtar added further.
