'Talent hota toh dikh nhi jaata' - Shoaib Akhtar's brutal take on Mohammad Rizwan after Pakistan's Champions Trophy 2025 exit

Pakistan Cricket Team under the captaincy of Mohammad Rizwan are facing harsh and hard-and-fast-lined criticism from all corners after their poor performance in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The Men in Green are now officially eliminated from the prestigious cricket quadrennial within five days of the tournament’s start.

Meanwhile, the former legendary Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar launched a brutal attack on current Pakistan skipper and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan. Akhtar looked dissatisfied and very disappointed while speaking about the performance of the Pakistan Cricket Team.

“It's not about talking, you have to deliver” – Shoaib Akhtar

The former bowling great also questioned the talent and approach of Mohammad Rizwan in the big and crucial matches while representing Pakistan. 

“Kaunsa talent? Kaunsa talent hai? Kis cheez ka? talent hota toh dikh jaata (Which talent, what kind of talent?  if there would've been talent, you would have seen it),” said Akhtar PTV’s show ‘Game On Hai’. 

“Would you rate Babar to Virat Kohli? Iyer to Khushdil Shah? Rohit Sharma to Fakhar Zaman? Our Rizwan, which one is the talent? Talents are displayed. It's not about talking, you have to deliver,” he added later. 

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Furthermore, the fastest bowler of his era also expressed a sense of disappointment after speaking about the flaws in the Pakistan Cricket Team for a lot of years in his tv stints. He also made a big statement while clearing his stance on expressing his views on Pakistan cricket.

“We do not have a personal agenda against the players. If I wasn't paid, I wouldn't even be here discussing Pakistan cricket. Honestly, I have nothing to do with this team. I have been doing this since 2011 and I have said it all. I have been seeing this deterioration since 2011. If you make abnormal people captain and make strange selections, this is what the result will be. I have previously worked with captains whose personalities would change thrice in a day,” he said.

Notably, the hosts and defending champions Pakistan will now face Bangladesh in their third and last league-stage match in the Champions Trophy 2025, which will also be a dead rubber.