It was a disappointing performance for the Men in Green as they suffered yet another defeat to their arch-rivals in the World Cups. They have a disastrous record against India, especially in the multi-team events, and the 2026 T20 World Cup match proved to be no different.
Afridi and Yousuf were among the few former Pakistani cricketers to publicly question the form and selection of several senior players, including Shadab. In response, Shadab defended both his own contributions and those of his teammates by pointing out the historic achievement achieved by the current crop of players.
“Our ex-cricketers have their own opinions. They did well for Pakistan and at the end of the day, they never beat India in the World Cup. We were the ones who beat India in the 2021 World Cup,” Shadab was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
Shadab was referring to Pakistan’s memorable 10-wicket win over India in the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup, a rare World Cup victory against their arch-rivals that has long been celebrated by Pakistan.
“In World Cups, we have beaten India only once. Yes, they are legends, but they never did anything remarkable against India in the World Cup,” he added.
Meanwhile, Shadab had a brilliant performance against Namibia in their final group stage match in Colombo on February 18. After being promoted in the batting order, the right-hander scored a crucial 35 runs while also taking three wickets. After the match he believed that he cannot control what is said outside, but he can control what he does or can do for the team.
“As far as criticism is concerned, you can’t control that. Everyone has their own opinion. I think since I came back there was only one opinion where things didn’t go well, and because of that I had to face a lot of criticism. But I don’t have to justify that. I focus on what I can control. A bad day or a bad over can happen. It’s T20 cricket – you can give runs, or you can take wickets. I don’t think about it too much,” he concluded.
Pakistan have qualified for the Super 8 stage of the competition after their 102-run win over Namibia. The Salman Ali Agha-led side now meets New Zealand, Englandand Sri Lanka in the next phase of the tournament.
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