Mohammad Amir predicts India’s elimination from Super 8; reveals his semi-final picks

Former Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir has predicted South Africa and the West Indies to advance to the semi-finals from Group 1, revealing the reason behind India’s exit from the Super 8 round.

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Speaking on a popular Pakistani sports show, ‘Haarna Mana Hai’, Amir asserted that the Indian batters suffered collapses in the group stage, barring the game against Pakistan. With pressure mounting in the Super 8 round, the former pacer predicted them to suffer an early exit from the campaign.

“South Africa and the West Indies will advance to the semi-finals from Group 1. If you see their (India’s) matches, the batting collapsed in all the games, barring the Pakistan contest. The pressure will rise in the Super 8 matches. The way in which South Africa and the West Indies have been playing, they can beat any team. I don’t think India will make it to the last four.” Amir said while speaking on the popular show ‘Haarna Mana Hai’.

Furthermore, Amir also drew parallels with Abhishek Sharma and Saim Ayub, stating that the latter also struggled when he made his debut in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), adding that he has poor offside gameplay. 

For the unversed, Abhishek suffered a golden duck against the USA, he got out for a four-ball duck against Pakistan, and a three-ball duck against the Netherlands. Additionally, Amir reckoned that Abhishek can’t expect every ball to be in the slot.

“Saim had the same issue when he came to play the PSL a few years back. He was new and was hitting no-look shots. Nobody knew his weakness because most of his shots were on the leg side. Now, if you bowl at the third or fourth stump line, he struggles to decide. Even in his last two matches, he was dismissed playing on the off side. Unless he improves his off-side game, he cannot progress. Strong bowlers will always test your weakness and push you out of your comfort zone,” Amir said on the show.

“Same for Abhishek. He wants every ball in the slot so he can hit. But at the bigger stages, or in ODIs, har ball lapete mein nahi le sakte (you cannot slog every ball in pressure cricket). Salman Agha and Aryan Dutt got him out in similar fashion. International cricket will expose you,” he concluded.

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