AHMEDABAD: Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur on Saturday harshly criticized cricket’s governing body, saying there was no support for the team at Ahmedabad’s 132,000-seater stadium, which meant the occasion was not a high-profile international match. It claimed it looked like a “BCCI event”.
Pakistani fans were effectively barred from the ground after failing to obtain visas to cross the border, and the arena was filled with the blue shirts of Indian supporters as hosts Pakistan cruised to a seven-wicket victory. .
Arthur’s team was supported only by a small number of expat Pakistani fans from the US and UK.
Asked how much influence the partisan crowd has on the “timid” Pakistan team, Arthur said: “To be honest, it didn’t feel like an ICC event.
“It looked like a bilateral series. It was like a BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) event.”
Arthur accused the organizers of the PR system of giving preferential treatment to India by refusing to play India’s unofficial national anthem, “Dil Dil Pakistan.”
“I didn’t really hear ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ (‘My Heart is Pakistan’) tonight.
“That certainly played a part, but I’m not going to use that as an excuse.”
India and Pakistan have not played a full bilateral series since New Delhi and Islamabad have been at loggerheads since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
India could not grant visas to Pakistani fans even though they had already obtained tickets for World Cup matches.
India had the upper hand on the field on Saturday.
They smashed Pakistan for just 191, chasing the target with 19.3 overs to spare on the back of captain Rohit Sharma’s brilliant 86.
Arthur admitted his team was disappointed as only captain Babar Azam (50) and Mohammad Rizwan (49) contributed major points.
“I thought we were a little timid,” Arthur said of the hitting.
“I thought we could have fought a little more against the Indian spinners.”
Five Indian bowlers – Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja – claimed two wickets each as Pakistan clawed their way back to 155-2 at one point in 42.5 overs. .
“I think you have to realize that there are always two ways to skin a cat,” Arthur said.
“We’ve had success by thinking deeply and making money on the back end, and we haven’t been able to do that.”
The win extended India’s unbeaten record against Pakistan in World Cups to 8-0, with Arthur also participating as head coach in the 2019 tournament in England.
“I can only describe 2019 and this year,” Arthur said. “I think we lost both games well.”
Head coach Grant Bradburn also agreed with Arthur about Pakistan’s lack of support.
“It’s really disappointing that our supporters aren’t here,” Bradburn said.
“They will want to be here and I think the Indian cricket fans will like our supporters here.”
He added: “There’s no music that’s familiar to us today. So it didn’t feel like a World Cup match. We didn’t expect anything else.”
“We loved this opportunity and are disappointed that we were not able to do justice to it and our many fans here and abroad.”
