Mohammad Rizwan has revealed that former PCB Chief Ramiz Raja that his main agenda in 2021 was to see the Indian team lose to Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup.
During that edition, the Pakistani had become victorious over the Indian team for the first time in the history of ICC T20 World Cup editions since 2007. The Men in Blue defeated the Green Army twice in the first edition of the T20 WC itself and went on to win every game till the 2016 edition.
In the 2021 T20 WC in UAE, the day finally came when Pakistan defeated India in that stage with Babar Azam becoming the first captain to do so. He had played a crucial role along with vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan as they had taken the team to victory with an unbeaten partnership, which is forever going to be their greatest victory.
Mohammad Rizwan speaks on the pressure of Indo-Pak games and the public’s reaction to the 2021 victory
While speaking at an event before the 2024 T20 World Cup, Mohammad Rizwan spoke about the intensity and pressure of the India-Pakistan games. He said that cricket fans around the world can miss out on one or two matches but when it’s an Indo-Pak clash, people from Australia, England, and other countries keep their eyes on the tie.
“Ramiz Raja said to us just don’t loose against India” : Mohammad Rizwan 🤣 #CWC24 pic.twitter.com/jfH5xGM1yd
— Arfa Feroz Zake (@ArfaSays_) June 2, 2024
“Pakistan and India’s match is a pressure-filled match because in every tournament like the World Cup people watch and also miss a few games but the India-Pakistan match is watched by the people in Australia, England and many other countries.” – Rizwan said in a recent event.
Mohammad Rizwan then spoke about the feeling he had while stepping out to the field along with Babar Azam to chase down a total of 152. It was the wicket-keeper batter’s first time playing at a World Cup stage and despite the enormous pressure of the fixture, Rizwan admitted that he was very calm and everything felt normal to him.
“So the entire world’s pressure is on this match. It was my first time, I was playing in the World Cup for the first time but everything was quite normal to me. When we won, then we realized that we have achieved something notable.” – Rizwan added.
Rizwan also spoke about the local public’s reaction to Pakistan’s 10-wicket win over India. He revealed that people back home didn’t take money for the things they used to buy from shops with some people also watching that match every day.
Rizwan exposes Ramiz Raja’s evil eye on India
Mohammad Rizwan then exposed that Ramiz Raja’s only motive after taking the PCB office was to make sure the team beat India. Rizwan admitted that Raja didn’t care about what the team did in the World Cup he only cared about the India-Pakistan match’s result. This speaks about the mindset he had during his tenure and also tells us about the lingering problems there.
“When Ramiz Raja came in, the first thing he said, because we hadn’t beaten India yet, that we should be able to beat India. He kept repeating that we should beat India.”
“Although there was a lot of time till the World Cup but he kept developing that thought within the team. When the World Cup came closer, he told us winning and losing doesn’t matter but we shouldn’t lose to India.” – Mohammad Rizwan concluded.
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