Former cricketers Imran Khan and Shoaib Akhtar hail Pakistan's Asia Cup triumph over India
Pakistani cricketer turned politician Imran Khan
Cricketing great Imran Khan has come and congratulated the Pakistan team for it’s magnificent last gasp victory over India in the Asia Cup. He also praised veteran Shahid Afridi, who was the match-winner on the night.
“Afridi fulfilled his responsibilities as a senior player and I am happy to see him playing so well under lot of pressure,” he said.
Shoaib Akhtar, nicknamed the Rawalpindi express, admitted that the bowling deserved more credit than the mediocre batting .
“I am happy that Pakistan won but I think it was not our batting but our bowling that won us the match as they restricted India to a reasonable total on a good batting track,” he said.
He also highlighted few errors in judgement that stand-in captain, Virat Kohli made, on the night.
“He should have kept at least two overs for Shami knowing the way Pakistan’s batting collapses at times,” he added.
Former Pakistan captain Mohammed Yousuf felt India was rather over-confident in the first innings, and fell short by at least 60-70 runs.
“I don’t know but I got this feeling they were over confident and tried to play too many strokes and they paid the price. On this pitch India fell short by at least 60 to 70 runs,” he said.
But at the same time, Yousuf praised the Pakistani bowlers for restricting the destructive Indians.
“The bowlers provided the impetus for the win.” he added.
Pakistan chief selector Rashid Latif pointed out that the non selection of Yuvraj Singh was a huge mistake, amplified by the absence of Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni.
“I don’t know why Yuvraj was not selected because he remains a limited overs player and today India missed his aggressive attitude and all round ability. I think his experience would have helped against the Pakistani spinners.”
Pakistan’s former batsman and ex-head coach Mohsin Khan explained why Shahid Afridi remains a vital asset for the team.
“I think everyone contributed in their won way but the way Afridi handled the pressure in the final over, that was the winning moment for Pakistan. He kept his nerves and won the match for Pakistan.”
The Asia Cup champions are now in pole position to defend their title with Sri Lanka their most likely opponents in the finals.