Following Ben Stokes’ startling revelations about the crucial India-England game in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, former Pakistan leg-spinner, Mushtaq Ahmed has revealed that some of the West Indian star cricketers said the same at the time.
The 49-year-old was working with the West Indies cricket team as a spin bowling consultant in the mega event. Talking about the match which ultimately resulted in Pakistan’s elimination, the former cricketer said that West Indies players including captain Jason Holder, Andre Russel, and Chris Gayle said that India lost the match to kick Pakistan out of the tournament.
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The Men in Green failed to make it to the top 4 despite having the same number of points as New Zealand.
I was working with the West Indies squad at last year’s World Cup. After India’s loss to England, Jason Holder, Chris Gayle, and Andre Russell said to me, Mushy, India didn’t want to see Pakistan qualify for the semi-finals.
Earlier, member of England’s World Cup-winning squad, Ben Stokes wrote in his new book:
I know that we bowled brilliantly well during this period, but the way they went about their batting just seemed bizarre. They allowed their team to get so far behind the game. They showed no desire to put any pressure back onto our team, content instead to just drift along, a tactic that was clearly playing into our hands. The way MS Dhoni played when he came in with 112 runs needed from 11 overs was even stranger. He appeared more intent on singles than sixes. Even with a dozen balls remaining, India could still have won.
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There were plenty of raised eyebrows when India did not press for victory despite being in a comfortable position to win with just 2 wickets down. The Men in Blue fell short of the target by 31 runs.
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