IPL Has Been India’s Biggest Weapon According to Shahid Afridi

Former Pakistani all-rounder, Shahid Afridi commended Indian cricket team and the BCCI for their one-sided win against the arch-rivals Pakistan at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 on Sunday.

India won the high-voltage clash against Pakistan at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, at Old Trafford, Manchester on June 16. Sarfaraz Khan asked the Indian team to bat after winning the toss. However, India put a mountainous score of 336 runs on the board after the completion of 50 overs with the help of Rohit Sharma’s century and Virat Kohli’s crucial 77 runs knock in the middle.

Pakistan in reply could manage to score only 212 runs in 40 overs as they lost the match by 89 runs (DLS Method). This was India’s 7th victory over Pakistan at the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Following their victory over the ‘Green Army’, Shahid Afridi said that the quality of cricket being played by the ‘Men in Blue’ has been “exceptionally high” at the latest edition of the quadrennial event.

Shahid Afridi wrote on Twitter, “Congratulations to BCCI on a well-deserved win today. The standard of cricket being played has been exceptionally high and credit goes to IPL for not only helping identify and harness talent but also in equipping younger players with pressure handling techniques.”

Earlier, former Pakistani strike bowler, Wasim Akram also applauded the Indian cricket team. He said, “Indian cricket invested everything in their first-class cricket over the years. And we in Pakistan have hardly done anything for our first-class cricket.” 

“We (Pakistan) have been changing it every year. Our first-class cricket has been run by some random journalist for some odd reason and why for so many years,” Akram added.

Waqar Younis also praised the ‘Men in Blue’ for their incredible performance. He wrote, “In the last few years, there’s been a massive difference India and Pakistan – and again it showed at Old Trafford on Sunday.”

“We had good sides in the 1990s, but now I think this India team intimidates Pakistan. When Pakistan teams head into these games, they are always under pressure and feel like they’re the weaker team,” added Waqar.