ADELAIDE, Australia: Pakistan’s World Cup campaign ended on Friday with a quarter-final defeat against Australia but for some odd reason the country’s cricket chiefs opted to hail the national team’s sub-par performance.
Just minutes after Pakistan’s six-wicket defeat, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) issued a press release to ‘commiserate’ with Misbah-ul-Haq and his men.
“The team had made it to the quarter-finals on the back of some excellent performances in four consecutive wins. The quarter-final loss is disappointing, but what is heartening is that the team showed a lot of fighting spirit and character in trying to defend a low total against tournament favourite hosts, Australia,” PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said.
“Another aspect deserving special mention is the overall conduct of the team, which remained exemplary, with every player acting as a true ambassador of the country throughout the event,” he said.
“As this World Cup 2015 campaign comes to an end, it brings the curtain down on the careers of two of our stalwarts, skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi. I take this opportunity to convey my personal appreciation for their immense contribution to Pakistan cricket. We shall honour them on their return to Pakistan.
“I wish Misbah all the success as Test and Shahid Afridi as T20 captain in future,” he added.
Pakistan’s overall performance was far from satisfactory as apart from a surprise win against South Africa in Auckland, they lost against all their big games including a high-profile encounter against India.
The players’ conduct termed as exemplary by PCB was anything but that. Eight players were fined by the Board for breaking team curfew even before the start of the World Cup.