Former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir is showing no signs of relenting from his stance, once again saying that India won’t reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2026. The last few days have seen the left-arm pacer becoming the centre of attraction on social media following his unpopular opinions. At first, he called India opening batter Abhishek Sharma a “slogger”, saying he doesn’t know how to come in the line and defend the ball. Days later, he then stated that India won’t make it out of the Super 8s and reach the semi-finals.
While explaining his statement, Amir said that both South Africa and the West Indies are playing better cricket than India, hence he doesn’t think Suryakumar Yadav’s side would be able to do enough to make it to the last four.
Ahead of the Super 8s match between India and Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Amir took aim at former Indian players, saying he just gave his opinion based on his knowledge and reading of the game. He then went on to state that he didn’t say anything derogatory about India, the country, accusing the former Indian players of saying nasty things about Pakistan.
“I have just given my opinion. We have always praised India when they perform well. I have also said this earlier, one should respect one’s opinion. If I talk about the kinds of things some former Indian players say, they use such bad language. They abuse Pakistan. We have never done so, just tell me one time if I ever used bad language against India,” said Amir on the ‘Haarna Mana Hai’ show.
When speaking about Abhishek, Amir said that his opinion was based on how the left-handed batter approaches his innings, arguing that the 25-year-old doesn’t have a defensive game yet.
“When it comes to Abhishek, I just said that he doesn’t have a defensive game. A player who cannot stop the ball, what else do I call him? Just tell me what to call him if he can’t come into the line and defend the ball,” he added.
‘Learn to respect’
Amir, who played 159 international matches for Pakistan, then stated that one should respect someone’s opinion, saying that everyone cannot sing the same tune because individuals are different.
“Learn to respect someone’s opinion. There are 100 people in the world; not everyone can have the same opinion. We have played the sport, so we know how it works. Looking at how India and South Africa have been playing cricket, I think South Africa are better,” said Amir.
“I was just talking from that sense,” he added.
Speaking of India, the Suryakumar-led side are in Group 1 for the Super 8s alongside South Africa, Zimbabwe and the West Indies. On the other hand, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and England form Group 2.
