India, Feb. 24 -- Shoaib Akhtar didn't mince his words and slammed the Pakistan batters for not living up to the hype in the crucial matches on the big stages. The crushing six-wicket defeat to arch-rivals India has once again put the Pakistan team under the scanner for their below-par performances in the ICC events in the past few years. The likes of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and others failed in the mega clash against India as the hosts are now on the verge of being knocked out of the tournament.

Over the past few years, players like Babar, Rizwan and Khushdil were tagged as talented players who could take Pakistan cricket forward. However, Akhtar slammed the players with the 'talent' tag associated with them. ...