Shoaib Akhtar lavishes huge praise on Shami and Indian pace attack: 'Start celebrating your fat bowlers'

India have emerged as one of the most explosive bowling units in the ongoing World Cup. Out of the seven matches they have played so far, they only conceded 200-plus totals only thrice against Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and New Zealand. Impressively, in five of the seven matches, they have managed to bowl out their opponents. Bowling first, Indian pacers have attacked as a compact unit as Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, and Mohammed Siraj have all made crucial contributions. It should also be mentioned that spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav have also inflicted serious damage on opposition batters.

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Bumrah, Shami and Siraj first joined hands to dismantle England when they bowled them out for 129 runs. They then blew away Sri Lanka bundling them for a meagre total of 55 in their last game on Thursday.

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar was all praise having seen India’s transformation into a “ruthless side” and predicted that this relentless performance will continue throughout the World Cup. In a video posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, he asked the Indian fans to recognize and celebrate their fast bowlers, highlighting the electrifying atmosphere at the Wankhede Stadium.

“India is becoming a ruthless side from this point the onslaught cannot be stopped but my request to Indians is to start celebrating your fast bowlers because everyone was happy and there was a lot of noise on each delivery at the Wankhede Stadium,” Akhtar was heard saying in a social media post.

Time for India to start celebrating their Fast bowlers. #INDvsSL pic.twitter.com/dQklgFNUpL

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) November 2, 2023

Akhtar was impressed with Shami, who delivered his best ODI performance with figures of 5/18 against Sri Lanka. In the three World Cup 2023 matches that he has played so far, Shami has picked up 14 wickets.

Read: Team India in a league of its own in a World Cup made for a privileged few

Chasing a mammoth total of 358, Sri Lanka faced a calamitous defeat, getting bundled out for 55 in 19.4 overs. This was the third occasion this year when Sri Lanka was not able to even cross the 100-run mark against India in ODIs.

The emphatic win against Sri Lanka helped India to register their World Cup victory, in terms of runs. With this triumph, hosts India succeeded in claiming their spot in the semi-finals. India currently hold the top spot on the points table with seven wins from as many games.