Babar Azam with a present for Hyderabad ground staff© Video Grab
The welcome the Pakistan team received upon reaching Hyderabad was truly heartwarming. Over the course of their stay in the City of Nizams, Pakistan have truly had a gala time. As the Pakistan team geared up to leave Hyderabad for their next match of the Cricket World Cup 2023 against India in Ahmedabad, skipper Babar Azam had a heartwarming surprise ready for the ground staff at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Babar gave a signed jersey to the ground staff in Hyderabad, thanking them for their hospitality.
After Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka in a high-scoring contest, Babar was spotted posing for pictures and videos with a shirt in his hand that he presented to the ground staff at the venue. Here’s the video:
After the game, even Pakistan wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan lauded the hospitality his team received in Hyderabad. He even thanked the pitch curator for creating a wicket that made Pakistan feel like home in Hyderabad.
“I felt like I was playing a match in Pindi. The way the crowd gave love today (Tuesday), and not just me, the whole Pakistan team got love. In fact, they supported Sri Lanka too. I am happy that the crowd in Hyderabad has supported cricket, both Sri Lanka and us. I had a lot of fun with them.” Hospitality of Hyderabad was unparalleled. “Hospitality, you all must have seen it. Someone must have taken pictures when we came to the airport. I said earlier that I felt like I was playing in front of crowd of Rawalpindi. Our ground in Lahore is big, a lot of people come there but today it seems that Pakistan’s match is taking place in Rawalpindi,” Rizwan said while speaking to the media on Tuesday.
“When we reached the ground, Abdul Rahman who is also our coach and there were 2-3 more players with me, said, ‘Rizwan this pitch looks like a batting pitch. When we were bowling, I think it was 32nd or 33rd over that time, I told (Mohammed) Nawaz and 2-3 other players, if we restrict Sri Lanka to 340-plus, then I hope it’s the best. If it goes above that, it means we’re not bowling well,” he added.
Pakistan are next set to take on India in Ahmedabad on October 14.
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