‘Jab upar wala akal baant raha tha toh…’ – Former Pakistan cricketer lashes out on Rahul Dravid after India’s disappointing performance in ongoing WTC final 2023

India is currently locking horns with Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final which is played at The Oval, in London. After three day’s play, the latter has dominated the final, as they have a lead of 296 runs after the end of play on day three.

Earlier, while batting first, Australia posted a huge total of 496 runs, where centuries were scored by Travis Head and Steve Smith. In response to Australia’s mammoth total, India was bundled out for 296 runs. The highest run scorer for the side was Ajinkya Rahane, who scored 89 runs. Shardul Thakur also played a pivotal innings of 51 runs.

Basit Ali, a former Pakistani cricketer, criticized the Indian team and their playing XI. He said that the Men in Blue lost the match when they chose to field first at the toss. He also questioned the players’ fitness.

I am a huge Rahul Dravid fan, have always been and will remain: Basit Ali

“India lost the match the moment they chose to bowl worrying about the first two hours. And the kind of bowling that was on display was just like IPL. By lunch, the Indian bowlers appeared so happy as if they’d won the match. All India can do now is hope to get them out cheaply and hope for a miracle in the fourth innings. During the 120 overs that India fielded, I could see only 2-3 players being fit – Rahane, Kohli and Jadeja. The rest looked tired,” Ali was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.

Rahul Dravid, an Indian coach who took over in November 2021, was also criticized by the former Pakistan batter, who stated that while he is a world-class player, he is a complete failure as a coach. He also questioned the management of the Indian team.

“I am a huge Rahul Dravid fan, have always been and will remain. He is a class player, a legend. But as a coach, he is absolutely zero. You prepared turning pitches on India. Just answer me this. When India travelled to Australia, were there similar wickets? They had bouncy pitches, right? God knows what he was thinking. Jab upar wala akal baant raha tha toh pata nahi kaha pahaado ke peeche chhupe huye thhe (God knows where he was when god was distributing brains),” the 52-year-old asserted.