Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has slammed team director Mickey Arthur for his post-match comments after India won the 2023 World Cup thrilling clash by seven wickets in Ahmedabad on Saturday, October 14. Akram has also said Arthur should rather discuss their on-field plans like countering left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav’s threat instead of talking about random stuff.
The veteran also took the reference as Kuldeep removed Saud Shakeel and Iftikhar Ahmed for single-digit scores in the match as Pakistan lost their last eight wickets for just 36 runs as well. However, his reaction came as Mickey Arthur expressed his disappointment with the home crowd only cheering for India throughout the game and not for Pakistan. He also asked whether the World Cup is being conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Arthur has said in the post-match press conference: “Look, I’d be lying if I said it did. It didn’t seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event. I didn’t hear, ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ coming through the microphones too often tonight.” He continued: “So yes, that does play a role, but I’m not going to use that as an excuse because for us, it was about living the moment, it was about the next ball and it was about how we were going to combat the Indian, the Indian players tonight.”
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Wasim Akram responded, as quoted by A-Sports: “Bhaiya hame ye batao aap logo ne kya plan kiya tha? (Brother, tell me what was the plan?) Kuldeep Yadav ko kaese khelna hai? (How did you prepare to play Kuldeep Yadav?) That’s what we want to hear. Not this random stuff. You think you can get away with this. No, you can’t, unfortunately.”
And, former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Moin Khan also echoed Wasim Akram’s sentiments. The veteran has said that Mickey Arthur shouldn’t have talked about the crowd in the first place. He told A-Sports: “[Mickey Arthur is] diverting attention. A lot of people are disheartened and you’re making them emotional. I think he should discuss what is his job as a professional rather than showing a new path. As a coach, he shouldn’t have said that.”
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Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has also added that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should instead learn from the BCCI how to use the home crowd to their advantage as well. He shared on the same show: “We should praise them (BCCI or making the most of the home crowd). Hamare yahan event ho so ham bhi isi tarah utilize karen. (If we host such events, we should also utilize them). We should learn from them.”
