Akhtar would have made a difference in WC semi-final against India: Amir

Pakistan pace bowler Mohammad Amir has said Shoaib Akhtar would have undoubtedly made a difference if he had been allowed to play in the crucial World Cup semi-final match against India, which Pakistan lost by 29 runs last Wednesday.

"The management made a decision to not play him due to his fitness concerns which I can understand but Shoaib would have made a difference, no doubt about it," PakPassion.net quoted Amir, as saying.

"Even if he [Shoaib] was not 100% fit and not performing, the stage was set for him to perform well. He's been a big match performer and he would have delivered against India," he added.

Amir, who is awaiting confirmation of the date of the Court of Arbitration hearing into his appeal against the five-year-ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on spot-fixing charges, also said poor fielding played a big role in Pakistan's suffocating defeat at the hands of India.

"Playing against India in India was always going to be tough, the fielding crumbled under pressure in Mohali and mistakes were made. Dropping Tendulkar on so many occasions was always going to prove crucial. If Tendulkar had been caught early in his innings, who knows the result may have been different," the teenage pacer said.

Amir also expressed his disappointment over the dismal performances displayed by Pakistani batsmen during the mega event.

"The batsmen disappointed me and only Mohammad Hafeez was consistent in the tournament. The rest of the batsmen were inconsistent and failed to play the long innings that were needed at the top of the order," he noted.

"You really need your top order batsmen to deliver and that is why India and Sri Lanka were playing in the final, largely due to their top order playing the long innings and getting the big scores and building partnerships. If you look at the statistics you will see the Indian and Sri Lankan top 3 or 4 batsmen are amongst the top run makers in the World Cup," he added. (ANI)