New Delhi: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials on Saturday held a press conference to discuss the team’s performance in the T20 World Cup, which the Indian national cricket team eventually won.
During the press conference, Pakistan selector Ajib Javed spoke about the team’s performance and mentioned the long record against India in the ODI World Cup.
Javed, who spoke along with former Pakistan players Misbah-ul-Haq, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq, said Pakistan should not continue to use India’s record as an excuse.
“Failure to beat India in the World Cup is no excuse, the result was 8-0, even the best captain in the world has played from 1975 to 2026, so put that aside. In the Super 8 stage, a match was called off due to rain, we lost a match and nothing else happened,” he said.
“Against Sri Lanka, it’s impossible to win by such a margin. We only lost one game. We were just outplayed in net run rate. It’s too much to make it such a big issue. It’s a big issue, but not so big that our cricket is destroyed or that we can’t compete anywhere in the world.”
The discussion also brought back the earlier controversy involving Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan.
During the match, Shadab responded strongly to criticism from former players after Pakistan lost to India in Colombo.
When asked about the remarks made by former cricketers like Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Yousuf, he pointed out that their teams have never beaten India in a World Cup, unlike Pakistan’s win against India in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Shadab is a member of the 2021 team.
“Ex-cricketers have their point of view. They (former players) are legends but even they could not achieve what we have achieved. We beat India in the World Cup,” he added.
The message showed nothing but a lack of respect for past players, including Shadab’s father-in-law Saqlan Mushtaq.
Sachlan himself expressed dismay at the remarks.
“These are unpopular comments and most of the players I have played with have played with me. In fact, I am also one of those who have not won an ICC event but we have won several important matches, Tests and ODIs for Pakistan,” Sakran said on Pakistan Show.
