Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has expressed his strong desire to see India lose the T20 WC final at Ahmedabad against the Black Caps. The men in blue survived a tough run chase by the England batters the other night.

Speaking on Tapmad, Shoaib was asked who he thinks would win the tournament. While Shoaib admitted that India has the upper edge, he expressed a strong desire to see NZ win for “cricket’s sake.”

“I can see India as the winner out of this whole thing, but for cricket’s sake, it’s high time that New Zealand wins this World Cup.”
— Shoaib Akhtar on Tapmad post-match show

Akhtar warned that a big score set up by NZ will put the hosts under immense pressure; however, he also believes that seeing India’s very recent cricket, New Zealand should expect India to come hard at them.

This would be a sort of redemption opportunity for Team India, as they had lost the 2023 WC final here against Australia. The Indian team was unbeatable throughout the tournament until the final in the 2023 WC.

Why did Shoaib say that India losing would be good for “For Cricket Sake”?

After the year 2000, New Zealand has come close many times to winning the ICC tournament but has failed at the last moment. They managed to win the ICC Test championship 2021 trophy but are still seeking their first ICC tournament trophy in limited overs game after winning the Champions Trophy back in 2000 . Last year, India defeated them in Dubai and won the ICC Championship Trophy.