There is a rift within Indian team: Moin, Akhtar

Former Pakistan captain Moin Khan and discarded pacer Shoaib Akhtar feel the body language of the Indian cricket team at the ongoing T20 World Cup is not positive, which indicate there are problems within the side.

"Yuvraj is a top class and fearless player and a key to India's success in T20 cricket in the past. But this time he seems uninterested and his body language is not as it usually is. I don't know the reasons for this but maybe he is not 100 per cent fit, maybe he has issues with the management and is not happy," Moin said.

Both the Pakistani stars were speaking on the Geo Super channel during a special World T20 Cup programme.

Moin pointed out that India was a very good side on paper but they now needed to really perform well to prove they are also a good side on the field.

"I just think that maybe Pakistan and India have both played with some fear. In T20 cricket you must be positive and attacking all the time."

Akhtar said he definitely felt there were issues within the Indian team which was contributing to their inconsistent show in the tournament.

"I don't know what it is but maybe the IPL has something to do with, maybe the recent scandal that has broken out in the IPL is on the players' minds. Maybe there are internal issues among players but definitely they are problems."

"I get this feeling at times that perhaps, there are groups in the team loyal to their seniors," he added.

He said if India didn't perform well in the World Cup, questions will crop up whether there was a scenario developing in Indian cricket where the IPL was being given more importance by the players than playing international cricket.

"English Premier League football is a classic example, the English players play their hearts out for their clubs like Chelsea and Manchester United, but as a team for England they have not clicked for a long time. India is, maybe, starting to face the same problem now because of the IPL," he said.

Shoaib also pointed out that Pakistan had a slim chance now of qualifying for the semi-finals and they must take out their frustration and anger on the South African team.

"Look at the way Kevin Pietersen played against South Africa, our players need to do the same against South Africa," he said.