Shoaib Akhtar Slammed for Hypocrisy as He Becomes ‘Too Mellow’ on Pakistan Cricket Team

Former fast bowler of Pakistan cricket team Shoaib Akhtar went all praises for the Sarfraz 11 as they defeated New Zealand in their latest World Cup match on Wednesday. While praises for the team were quite abundant and almost everyone was joyous, Shoaib’s praises did not go well with the fans in both Pakistan and India.
Instead of reiterating his opinion and following the suit – which had been the case till now during the World Cup – this time around Shoaib’s social media posts related to Pakistan Cricket team faced backlash.
This has been mainly because Shoaib had himself been too critical on the boys in green and went as far as predicting their world cup journey to end after the defeat at the hands of arch rivals India.
However, this is what Rawalpindi Express said on Twitter after the Pakistan New Zealand match.
Match winning inning from Babar Azam. Brilliant display of talent by Haris Sohail. What a class act he is turning out to be.
Shaheen Afridi bowled with pace & aggression.
Pakistan Zindabad. One step closer to the dream. #PAKvNZ #CWC19— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) June 26, 2019
“Match winning inning from Babar Azam. Brilliant display of talent by Haris Sohail. What a class act he is turning out to be. Shaheen Afridi bowled with pace & aggression. Pakistan Zindabad. One step closer to the dream,” wrote the fast bowler turned analyst.
Shortly after, Shoaib also shared a small video of him praising the team and reflected back on the similarities between World Cup 1992 and 2019. Shoaib also found it necessary to call out ‘haters’ of Pakistan team and emphasized, “Never corner Pakistan team and Pakistan country. This is what happens when you corner them. We strike back. We strike back really hard.”
Never corner Pakistan. We become tigers when you do that. Congratulations & well done boys. #PAKvNZ #cwc19 #Pakistan #NewZealand pic.twitter.com/AnKfB8TUre
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) June 26, 2019
“Well done Pakistan team. We have done it,” said the 43-year old cricketer.
Shoaib’s tweets did not go down well with the fans who had been closely observing Shoaib’s earlier comments for the Pakistan team – including some real mean comments.
Twitter slammed Shoaib with full force, and it was yet another field day!
You have lost all the rights to rejoice & praise Sarfaraz & Co's outstanding performance 🙉🙊 #CWC19 https://t.co/zIBYAcJKFB
— Mandakini (@mandakini_) June 26, 2019
“You have lost all the rights to rejoice & praise Sarfaraz & Co’s outstanding performance,” said a Twitterati.
Isn't it u who cornered Ur own team ? U even body shamed Ur captain ? U dnt need to b Saint here. 😂😂 https://t.co/HhbS4MSYUx
— Cricfam (@cricfam) June 26, 2019
Another said, “Isn’t it u who cornered Ur own team ? U even body shamed Ur captain ? U dnt need to b Saint here.”
While some thought to remind Shoaib of his mean comments.
Who Said Brainless captain???
🤣🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/Whcyh61tLP— सोनू बालगुडे पाटील🚩 (@ImLB17) June 27, 2019
Another Twitter user tried to break down Shoaib’s strategy as he trolled the former cricketer.
Strategy:
1)Team plays badly, start attacking them personally
2) Team plays well, glorify them as if no one is better than themEither way, make some money doing the above two #WeHaveWeHill #CWCUP2019 #CWC19 https://t.co/o5bEjjGoQx
— Hussain (@HussainMrhash) June 27, 2019
Here are a few more responses to Shoaib’s tweet.
What a hypocrite lol. Ap ne hi sideline kia tha sub se pehle 🙄 https://t.co/ofUF3pMt88
— Farwa B Naqvi (@fbNaqvi) June 26, 2019
Time change, comments changed. Until last match you scolded your team and players like anything, today they shut your mouth. Better stop commenting and support your team. #PAKvsNZ #NZvPAK https://t.co/dnWTuEM4WS
— Khursheed | ख़ुर्शीद 🇮🇳 (@KhursheedAhmedA) June 26, 2019
Never corner Pakistan. We become tigers when you do that. Congratulations & well done boys. #PAKvNZ #cwc19 #Pakistan #NewZealand pic.twitter.com/AnKfB8TUre
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) June 26, 2019
Well, well. It’s about time that fans let this matter go and let Shoaib Akhtar too support his team. After all, it’s the World Cup that we want, not the fights.