During an exclusive virtual press conference leading up to the "Greatest Rivalry" event on Star Sports, the official broadcaster of the Asia Cup and ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar expressed his surprise and concern regarding the composition of India's World Cup squad. Akhtar highlighted two specific points of contention.

Firstly, he expressed surprise at the omission of Yuzvendra Chahal, a prominent Indian leg-spinner known for his wicket-taking abilities. Chahal has been a key performer for the Indian cricket team in limited-overs cricket, and his absence from the World Cup squad raised eyebrows.

Secondly, Shoaib Akhtar noted the absence of a left-handed seamer like Arshdeep Singh in India's squad. Left-arm pacers can bring variety and a different angle of attack to the bowling lineup, and Akhtar seemed to question why India did not include such an option in their World Cup squad.

These observations from Shoaib Akhtar shed light on some of the talking points and discussions surrounding India's team selection for the upcoming ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.

“How they have not selected Chahal is beyond me. And again, I think Arshdeep needed to be in the squad because under pressure, when you are playing against someone like Pakistan, then you need that left-handed seamer. But the problem with the Indian team is that when they get out for 150 or 200, it's not the batsmen but the bowlers who will have to perform. How long will you stretch your batting line-up? If the first five batsmen couldn't do anything, then what will the No. 7 or no. 8 do? So, I literally believe that you're playing with one bowler less."

“Coming back to India, I don't know why I have this feeling that India could not pick its final eleven for the past two years? I don't feel the team is settled because now you all have injuries, three or four people have been replaced and your squad seems unsettled. It's a strange thing for me that the squad doesn't seem settled. We still don't know who are the four main batsmen and who will bat at No.5, will Virat bat at No.5. 3 or 4?

“Ishan Kishan, again, he looks amazing. You know the reason she looks amazing? Because you play him on top or you play him in the middle, his mentality is, 'I am here for the team and I will score runs for you'. Hardik Pandya again, he turns out to be an asset for India. If we look at his all-round performance, then you feel as a captain, along with Ashish Nehra, he has taken his IPL side to such heights. He took his team to a final and won it and then reached the finals again next year. I think the combination of these two – Ashish Nehra and Pandya as a captain – can take India to new heights."

“But India has not been a settled squad for the past two years. It's just a very strange thing for me because you don't know who has to settle where. But having said that, you know, I am all for Rohit. I'm all for Virat Kohli. I'm all for all those players, but every day you have to perform because you've got a name. You have to be out there, you have to take command, to do things so that we don't leave it to the youngsters. These are big names, Rohit and Virat Kohli are huge names, so they will have to perform. So, the bowling squad looks unsettled, the batting squad looks unsettled."

“Going into the World Cup, playing against Pakistan in India, Pakistan will be the underdog. Nobody is going to talk about the World Cup when these two face each other, it's just going to be India versus Pakistan. And I believe this is going to be one of the best World Cups for the past 50-60 years. This is going to be the most amazing World Cup ever, with India hosting it. I want India to make full use out of this World Cup. But Pakistan will be the underdog and what Pakistan will do is play with their three pacers along with the medium pacer and the two spinners. Pakistan will be a strong contender along with India and England.