{"id":503212,"date":"2026-02-25T13:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/503212\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T13:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:29:09","slug":"shoaib-akhtars-meltdown-after-pakistan-loss-goes-viral-from-if-india-get-knocked-out-to-salman-is-not-captaincy-material-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/503212\/","title":{"rendered":"Shoaib Akhtar\u2019s meltdown after Pakistan loss goes viral: From \u2018if India get knocked out\u2019 to \u2018Salman is not captaincy material\u2019 | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/shoaib-akhtar.jpg\" alt=\"From \u2018if India get knocked out\u2019 to \u2018Salman is not captaincy material\u2019: Shoaib Akhtar\u2019s meltdown after Pakistan loss goes viral\" title=\"Shoaib Akhtar (Video grab)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>Shoaib Akhtar (Video grab) Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar unleashed a furious on-air rant after Pakistan\u2019s heartbreaking defeat to England in the T20 World Cup Super 8s, questioning captain Salman Ali Agha\u2019s leadership and lamenting his team\u2019s fading semi-final hopes.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@toisports\" rel=\"noopener nofollow noreferrer\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" target=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">SUBSCRIBE NOW!<\/a>Even before the match, Akhtar had revealed his emotional investment and rivalry-fuelled hopes on the \u2018Game On Hai\u2019 show. \u201cI just hope England play poorly so we can take the two points happily,\u201d he had said. \u201cOur joy will know no bounds if India get knocked out and we make it to the semi-finals.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>T20 World Cup: Shaheen Shah Afridi press conference after England vs Pakistan<\/p>\n<p>But those hopes were shattered in dramatic fashion in Pallekele as England pulled off a tense chase of 166, powered by captain Harry Brook\u2019s stunning 100 off 51 balls \u2014 the first century by a captain in T20 World Cup history.Pakistan had England in trouble at 58\/4, but Brook\u2019s composure and key partnerships turned the match on its head, sealing England\u2019s semi-final spot and leaving Pakistan\u2019s campaign hanging by a thread.The defeat triggered an emotional meltdown from Akhtar, who openly questioned Salman\u2019s credentials.In a viral reaction, Akhtar suggested Salman was \u201cnot captaincy material,\u201d a remarkable U-turn given he had earlier supported the Pakistan Cricket Board\u2019s decision to appoint him.Pakistan\u2019s situation is now precarious. Following the loss and an earlier washout against New Zealand, their semi-final fate is no longer in their own hands. They must beat Sri Lanka and hope other results go their way.Two wins for New Zealand would eliminate Pakistan outright, while other combinations could bring net run rate into play.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shoaib Akhtar (Video grab) Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar unleashed a furious on-air rant after Pakistan\u2019s heartbreaking defeat&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":503213,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,252970,43586,252974,53907,252971,252973,252968,252969,252967,85,252972],"class_list":["post-503212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-harry-brook-century","tag-pakistan-cricket-board","tag-pakistan-cricket-meltdown","tag-pakistan-cricket-team","tag-pakistan-semi-final-chances","tag-pakistan-vs-england-highlights","tag-pakistan-vs-england-t20-world-cup-2024","tag-salman-ali-agha-captaincy","tag-shoaib-akhtar-rant","tag-sports","tag-t20-world-cup-super-8s"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=503212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/503213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=503212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=503212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=503212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}