Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh. Image-Twitter.

Veteran India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has sledged Shoaib Akhtar ahead of the mega clash between India and Pakistan at the T20 World Cup. The arch-rivals will meet on October 24 in Dubai to kick off their respective World Cup campaigns.

Harbhajan Singh said he has told Shoaib Akhtar that Pakistan should just give a walkover to the Indian team and concede a loss. Pakistan have never beaten India in a World Cup encounter; the Men In Blue have emerged victorious in all of their 12 matches against the Men In Green – 5 in T20 World Cups and 7 in ODI World Cups.

“I have told Shoaib Akhtar, what is the point of Pakistan playing, you should give us a walkover, you will play, you will again lose, you will be upset,” Harbhajan Singh said while speaking to Star Sports.

India vs Pakistan
India vs Pakistan [Image-Getty]

Our team is very solid, very strong: Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh is currently part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad, which has reached the IPL 2021 final. The 41-year-old was part of the India eleven that defeated Pakistan in the 2007 T20 World Cup final.

Looking at India’s squad selected for this year’s event, the senior off-spinner feels that the side is very good and should be able to “easily beat” Babar Azam’s unit.

“Our team is very solid, very strong, they will easily beat you guys,” Harbhajan Singh added.

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Indian cricket team. (Photo: Twitter)

Meanwhile, the selectors have added Shardul Thakur to India’s 15-man squad. Thakur, who was earlier part of the standby players, was swapped in the main squad with spin-bowling all-rounder Axar Patel. Patel has now been placed in the list of the three travelling reserves, the other two being Deepak Chahar and Shreyas Iyer.

After the game with Pakistan, India will face New Zealand, Afghanistan, and two other teams who will qualify from Round 1 in the Super 12 stage.

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This is also captain Virat Kohli’s last tournament as India’s T20I captain. His RCB captaincy tenure ended without a trophy after the side was knocked out by KKR.

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