Afghanistan‘s dismal performance in the T20 World Cup semifinal against South Africa irked former England captain Michael Vaughan and questioned the ICC for favoring India. However, this criticism drew a sharp rebuke from ex-India head coach Ravi Shastri, who questioned Vaughan’s credentials to comment on the tournament’s scheduling.

Following Afghanistan’s historic semifinal appearance at the T20 World Cup 2024, their impressive run was abruptly halted as they were dismissed for just 56 runs against South Africa. Former cricketer Michael Vaughan took to social media to explain that the team had faced a flight delay while traveling to Trinidad after their final Super Eight match, leaving them with limited time to practice and adapt to the conditions before the crucial match.

The former England batter blamed the schedule, believing it to be prioritised towards India and disrespectful to Afghanistan.

In a Friday interview with Times Now, former Indian all-rounder Ravi Shastri responded to a remark made by his ‘colleague’ Michael Vaughan. Shastri sharply criticized Vaughan, telling him to focus on England‘s performance at the T20 World Cup, where they were eliminated in the semifinals.

“Michael is free to say whatever he wans to, but nobody would care in India. He would be better off focusing on addressing the England team. After all, India has a storied history of winning major tournaments, with four cup titles to England’s two. I don’t recall Michael lifting a trophy himself. So he may want to reconsider his position. While he is a colleague of mine, I respectfully disagree with his stance on this matter,” remarked Shastri.

In addition, Shastri dismissed the debate around Suryakumar Yadav’s catch in the final over of the T20 World Cup match between India and South Africa.

“Sour grapes. And after five years, go check the records. It would have the name India etched on it,” he continued.