A few weeks following India’s devastating six-wicket defeat to Australia in the Ahmedabad, Pakistan, ODI World Cup 2023 final, former captain of Pakistan Wasim Akram accused the ‘Men in Blue’ supporters of having declared them the winners of the esteemed competition before the host nation had played their final match. Speaking on Star Sports, Akram acknowledged that, despite the Men in Blue’s incredible performance throughout the competition, it was difficult for the people of the host country that they were unable to win the World Cup.
Wasim Akram Wants Audience Members To Admit Their Error
Then, since they had already declared Rohit Sharma’s team the World Cup winners before the decisive match, Wasim asked the media, the fans, and social media to accept their own mistakes as well.
“I can understand that, as a nation, it will be tough to get over it because your team played so well throughout the tournament. They won 10 matches on the trot; there was consistent. But television, social media, fans… you all already made India the winner of the World Cup. You accept your mistake too, I’m sorry. You increased the hope of the people because they were playing so well. It’s not entirely your fault. They were playing very good cricket. But it came to just one bad game. Credit goes to Australia,” Wasim said.
Akram further added that the fans have to move on since there’s another World Cup coming in just six months.
“First of all, the Indian team played really well. It feels like a shock (that they lost in the final), they are down but it’s alright. I still get asked about the loss in the 1999 World Cup final. When will our fans forget this? The fans of India and Pakistan have an elephant’s memory. It’s been 30 years since we lost that final and they still ask me why I opted to bat after winning the toss. So, don’t take social media seriously; half of it is just drama. As a nation, you have to move on; there’s another World Cup coming in six months,” Wasim added.
For more cricket updates, make sure to follow us on:
