Published: Aug 06, 2023, 03:45 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 06, 2023, 03:48 PM (IST)
PAKISTAN Shaheens successfully managed to defend their Emerging Asia Cup title after they thrashed India by 128 runs in the final.
The Pakistan squad had as many as seven players who had played for the national team. India, on the other hand, backed a young squad, with not even one player with an international cap. After India’s defeat in the final, a section of fans slammed the Pakistan team for sending an experienced team to the event.
Pakistan A captain Mohammad Haris hit back at the critics saying that they did not ask the Indian team to send ‘Kids’ and it was a decision taken by the board. Haris added even though the seven Pakistan team members had played for the national team, the number of matches they played was significantly low, adding that Indian players, on the other hand, had more than 250 IPL matches under their belt.
“People are saying that Pakistan sent A team with many seniors. We did not ask them to send little kids to the tournament. They say that we had international experience in our team. How much international matches have we played but? Saim has played 5, I have played 6. Those guys (India players) have played 260 IPL matches,” Haris was quoted as saying by Zee News.
Even though India lost the final, the team emerged as the best team in the tournament. Team India reached the final undefeated, also beating Pakistan A in a league game. Three of the top four run-scorers of the tournament were from the Indian team. Yash Dhull scored 234 runs in the tournament while Abhishek Sharma and Sai Sudarshan followed him with 221 and 220 runs respectively.
Nishant Sandhu, Manav Suthar, and RS Hangargekar, with 11, 10, and 10 wickets respectively were the top three wicket-takers of the tournament.
