Shoaib Akhtar’s emotional outburst shocked everyone after Pakistan’s loss to India in the Asia Cup 2025 final. The Rawalpindi Express didn’t hold back his feelings. He blasted head coach Mike Hesson for what he called terrible team selections.
Pakistan’s Batting Falls Apart
Pakistan looked comfortable at 113/1, but then everything went wrong. They lost wickets quickly and were bowled out for only 146. India’s spin attack did the damage with Kuldeep Yadav leading the charge. He picked up four wickets while his teammates caused chaos.
Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel took two wickets each. Jasprit Bumrah also grabbed two crucial scalps for India.
Shoaib Akhtar’s Emotional Outburst Slams Team Management
Shoaib Akhtar’s emotional outburst was full of anger and disappointment. He called Hesson’s coaching “senseless” for leaving out Hasan Nawaz.
“It is the fault of the management that is not thinking right. Talking about senseless coaching, I would probably say. I probably – I am going to, sorry to say these kinds of harsh words, but it’s senseless coaching,” Akhtar said.
Akhtar felt Nawaz could have strengthened Pakistan’s weak middle order. He also questioned why Captain Salman Ali Agha gave Rauf more overs. The spinners were doing well but didn’t bowl enough, he said.
“Again, the match-winner Hasan Nawaz, and then we have Salman Mirza not playing. Again, it became a little difficult. We are very disappointed, very hurt. It was a Super Sunday, and the whole nation was watching, but our middle order is already a problem. You know it, I know it, we all keep saying our top three batsmen in the middle are a problem.”
Akhtar wasn’t happy seeing tailenders like Shaheen Afridi batting up the order. Pakistan’s middle order failed again in another big Asia Cup 2025 match.
“And obviously, if you are asking too much from Mohammad Nawaz, and again, when Shaheen Shah Afridi and Faheem Ashraf have to bat ahead, it’s questionable. Again, you expect the lower order to add 50 more runs, so we reach 175 – there are too many errors. Too many mistakes,” he added.
India Completes Tricky Chase
India’s start was horrible as they slipped to 20/3. Things looked bad for the defending champions early on. But Tilak Varma had other plans for this match. He smashed 69 runs and was not out till the end.
Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube helped him rebuild the innings. Varma’s six off Haris Rauf in the last over sealed it. Rinku Singh hit the winning runs with his only delivery faced.
