India beat Pakistan by seven wickets in Cricket World Cup 2023© AFP
Former Indian cricket team opener Aakash Chopra was not pleased with Pakistan team director Micky Arthur’s comments regarding the Cricket World Cup 2023 match between the two sides being a “BCCI event” rather than an “ICC event”. Arthur said that the Pakistan cricket team did not enjoy any kind of support at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and even complained about their unofficial team anthem – “Dil Dil Pakistan” – not playing at any point of time. Chopra took a jibe at the statements saying that a song cannot be an excuse as the Babar Azam-led side was defeated comprehensively.
“DJ wale babu mera gana baja do…I mean seriously???? Did we hear Sri Lanka complain about the fact that the Hyderabad crowd was chanting ‘Pakistan Jeetega’?? I’ll be genuinely surprised if the DJ at Narendra Modi Stadium played ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ even once today,” he posted on X (formerly Twitter).
DJ wale babu mera gana baja do…I mean seriously????
Did we hear Sri Lanka complain about the fact that the Hyderabad crowd was chanting ‘Pakistan Jeetega’??
I’ll be genuinely surprised if the DJ at Narendra Modi Stadium played ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ even once today. https://t.co/Nt6yM8Otme
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 14, 2023
Earlier, Arthur expressed his displeasure regarding the organisation of the India vs Pakistan match.
“Look, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. It didn’t seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event. I didn’t hear ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ coming through the microphones too often tonight.”
Arthur, however, said that the lack of support in the crowd could not be used an excuse for the team’s heavy loss to India.
“So yes, that does play a role, but I’m not going to use that as an excuse because for us it was about living the moment, it was about the next ball and it was about how we were going to combat the Indian, the Indian players tonight,” he added.
‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ is a popular song sung by famous group Vital Signs fronted by late Junaid Jamshed. It is like a second anthem that blares from loudspeakers at all ICC events.
Pakistan were defeated by seven wickets in the much-anticipated clash against India.
(With PTI inputs)
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