"I was in the squad the night before" - Shaheen Shah Afridi recalls 'deep disappointment' at missing 2019 World Cup game against India
Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi has revealed his disappointment at missing the 2019 World Cup game against India, saying that he was in contention a night before the contest. The left-arm seamer recalled that he deserved to play that game after performing well in the previous one.
The Men in Green went with a pace attack of Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz and Hassan Ali but put up an underwhelming show as India coasted to 336 in 50 overs in Manchester.
In response, Pakistan lost by 89 runs, with a half-century from Fakhar Zaman and his 104-run partnership with Babar Azam being their bright spot.
Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, Afridi disclosed that the omission from the India game angered and disappointed him, as he had performed decently in the previous game. However, the 23-year-old said that he had to accept the decision, as it's a team sport.
"I remember the game against India, for which I wasn't selected. I was in the squad the night before but when it came to the toss, I suddenly wasn't. That's just a team decision, and they go with what looks like the right option at that time. Of course, the disappointment of missing that match was deep."
"I felt I played the previous match well and was on track to play the next one, and then I missed out like that. I even got angry, but you have to accept some decisions for the team because this is not an individual game. We lost that match, but we maintained our hopes of qualifying to the end because of the way certain results worked out."
The youngster reflected on his fiery performance against Bangladesh, saying that he wanted to give it all despite the inconsequential nature of the contest.
"By the time we got to bowling against Bangladesh, we were effectively eliminated. But if you're representing Pakistan, any match, first or last, big team or small team, must be played as if it's a final.
"I want people to look at me and think I played with pride and never held back, so for me that Bangladesh game was still huge."
Pakistan needed an improbable win margin in their last group game against Bangladesh at Lord's. Batting first, the Men in Green made 315 in 50 overs and bowled Bangladesh out for 221, led by Afridi's six-for.
"That World Cup made me" - Shaheen Shah Afridi
The 23-year-old admitted to never thinking that he would play in the tournament but sees it as a stepping stone:
"I spoke to a couple of cricketers at the time, and I said I didn't believe I could play that World Cup. I was going for plenty of runs too before that series.
"But that World Cup made me, and taught me a lot of things, not just in cricket but also in life. It taught me what I had the strength to bear and what I could withstand. I look at that World Cup as a tournament that lifted my career a lot."
With 86 wickets in 44 ODIs, Afridi is Pakistan's spearhead at the 2023 World Cup.