Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra (Credits - Twitter)

Former India opener Aakash Chopra has hit out at ex-Pakistan cricketers who are claiming that India lost to England deliberately in the 2019 World Cup. A win for India in that game would have sent England packing while Pakistan would have progressed ahead to the semifinal.

However, the Virat Kohli-led side lost the high-scoring encounter by 31 runs. Chasing an improbable total of 338 against the spirited hosts and the eventual winners, India did stay in contention but eventually ended up on 306.The loss was India’s only loss in the group stages before they lost the semifinal against New Zealand.

On the other hand, Pakistan finished the tournament at fifth spot after missing out on the semifinal spot due to poor net run-rate. Ever since that loss, Pakistan fans and their former cricketers have been saying that India lost the game deliberately to make sure Pakistan exit the tournament.

India
India (Image Credit: Twitter)

Those claims have only increased in recent times after England allrounder Ben Stokes, in his book, claimed that he was surprised to see India’s approach while chasing. Since then, former Pakistan cricketers like Abdul Razzaq, Sikander Bakht as well as Mushtaq Ahmed have stated that India lost the game deliberately. Last year, former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis had also questioned India’s approach just after the match ended.

Aakash Chopra hits back:

In his latest YouTube video, Aakash Chopra did not beat around the bush as he hit back at the former Pakistan cricketers. He was highly critical of Waqar as he asked the Pakistan cricketers to have some shame.

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“I am wearing a T-shirt which says Sharam (shame) not found. Think a little and have some shame. Waqar Younis, despite being the brand ambassador for the ICC, gave a statement during the World Cup that India threw the match away on purpose. I mean seriously,” said Aakash Chopra.

“It is understandable if the partnership between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma didn’t make sense to Stokes or if he was confused by Dhoni’s approach towards the end. But he never said that India deliberately lost the match,” he added.

Aakash Chopra further urged the ICC to fine the former Pakistan cricketers.

“Former Pakistani cricketers are openly saying that India lost deliberately and ICC should fine them. How can you think like that? It was more important for India to top the group at that time. India only lost one game in the group stages and that happened to be that game against England,” he said.

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