LAHORE: Former Pakistan cricket captain Muhammad Hafeez said that Pakistan’s loss to India in the opener of the World T20 Cup is damaging for Pak players and expressed the hope they can bounce back provided play they play good and positive cricket in the rest of the mega event.
He said on Thursday that he wanted Pakistan’s match against India to be a nail-biter – and he certainly got hid wish fulfilled.
“ This fixture is always something special and people travel from all over the world to see it. Whenever it happens, it brings a lot of joy to the fans and to see that atmosphere inside the MCG, with over 90,000 spectators in the stadium, was special and the match itself gave them all something to remember.
“ It was definitely one of the best T20 games we’ve seen in recent years. I’ve never watched a game quite like it and I think this match has set the tone for the World Cup as a whole.
The former all rounder said as an ex-Pakistan cricketer, he was obviously disappointed with the result, but can only give credit to Virat Kohli. What a special cricketer he is.
“ He (Kohli) absorbed all the pressure when Pakistan were in control and conditions were tough. The way he handled it, particularly given the magnitude of this match and how it can wear you down, was unbelievable.
“ I can relate it to Carlos Brathwaite’s four sixes against England in the 2016 final. There’s no pressure quite like the last over of a World Cup final but this game comes close, so the way he managed the game was incredible.
“ From a Pakistan point of view, we made mistakes but there are positives. Shan [Masood] and Iftikhar [Ahmed] played superbly. They have been waiting patiently for their opportunities and now they have grabbed them.
“ We have had middle order problems but these two can play their shots and are technically solid, which will give the team and management confidence.
“The result could – and should – have gone in our favour and the players now have to pick themselves up. They will have to sit down and talk it through with each other. Nothing went badly wrong, we played a very good game on the whole but made mistakes at key stages”.
“I played in many Pakistan-India matches and they are always very impactful whether you win or lose”, he asserted.
“ As a player, you put so much into it – it can either boost your confidence or it could potentially break you.
“ This defeat will be damaging for the Pakistani players but I believe they can bounce back and play good, positive cricket for the rest of the tournament.
The former Pak captain said Shaheen Afridi, for one, will improve as the World Cup goes on and I want to praise his will to feature in Australia.
“ A month ago, we were all thinking he may not be able to make it because of his injury, so I’m very impressed to see him playing. He’s not in full rhythm yet but he is giving his best for the team and he will get better.
“ Ultimately, we have to forget this result quickly and move on to the next game. We must respond well against Zimbabwe and the Netherlands and we will also have to beat South Africa in what will be a massive match in this group – that looks like the key one for us now”.
Hafeez said “ Pakistan cricket brings so much joy to so many people when the team are playing well and I’d love to see us in the knockout stages. If we’re to make it, we can’t afford to make any more mistakes”.
