T20 World Cup 2021: We Don’t Want To Add Fire To That Fuel - Wasim Akram Empathizes With Hasan Ali

Published - 12 Nov 2021, 06:03 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:01 AM

Wasim Akram. Image-PTI

Former Pakistan seamer Wasim Akram felt sad for Hasan Ali being centred for his country’s loss against Australia in the semi-finals and showed his support as well. Hasan Ali hasn’t been at his very best in the T20 World Cup 2021 and has leaked a lot of runs in the powerplay as well as at the back end of the innings.

He also had a poor outing in the semi-finals as he failed to pick up a wicket and gave away 44 runs in his 4 overs spell. To add salt to the wounds, he dropped Matthew Wade in the 19th over of Shaheen Afridi’s bowling, and it had a big effect on the result of the game. Wade hit three consecutive sixes in the next three deliveries to take Australia to their second final.

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“I Have Been Through This” – Wasim Akram On Pakistan’s Emotions

Wasim Akram mentioned that he and Waqar Younis have suffered the same kind of criticism after losing crunch games in the big ICC tournaments and explained it is bound to happen in a country that loves the game. He added that he wanted Pakistani people to support Hasan Ali and start encouraging him despite the emotions running high.

“What we don’t want is that the whole country gets after poor Hasan Ali now. I have been through this; Waqar Younis has been through it. In other countries, it’s just a game for people. Next day, you say well-tried, bad luck, better luck next time, and move on,” Akram told during a programme ‘The Pavilion’ on A Sports.

“The Defeat Will Haunt Them” – Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram reckoned that the situation is very tough as a player to be in the dressing room after a semi-final loss. However, he added that the best thing to do is to not make the situation even worse by going after Hasan Ali.

“This situation is as tough for the players as it is for the fans. The players will go to their rooms, they’ll be quiet, they won’t talk to their families and the defeat will haunt them. As a nation, we don’t want to add fire to that fuel,” he added.