ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan gear up to take on a formidable England side in the final of the T20 World Cup 2022, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja backed his squad on Friday by telling them that “success is the best revenge.”
Pakistan were taken to the cleaners by critics and cricket pundits after the green shirts lost back-to-back matches against India and Zimbabwe. Before Pakistan defeated the Netherlands, South Africa and Bangladesh consecutively, skipper Babar Azam’s side relied heavily on rain and an upset win of the Netherlands over South Africa.
Both happened and Pakistan qualified for the semifinal of the T20 World Cup against New Zealand. Pakistan thrashed the Kiwis emphatically by seven wickets on Wednesday to qualify for the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday.
In a pep talk to the cricket squad on Friday, Raja, a former cricketer and member of the 1992 World Cup-winning cricket team, commended them for “an incredible comeback.”
“In Pakistan, there is still a lot of interest in the game. So, if you have interest, there will be critical analysis,” Raja said. “Some will go over the top but that shouldn’t stop us from performing. As I said, success is the best revenge, don’t worry about anything else,” he added.
Raja recalled Pakistan cricket team’s famous 1992 win at Melbourne 30 years ago, saying that former captain Imran Khan had told the team to “go out there and enjoy this” instead of worrying about their performances.
He repeated the same advice to the players and told them to take the field on Sunday against England as confident, relaxed cricketers and with “strong body language.”
Pakistan will have their hands full against a strong England side who romped to a flawless 10-wicket victory over India on Thursday.
