Ahmedabad

Pakistan men's cricket team director Mickey Arthur was not a happy man after his team's abject surrender against arch rivals India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad during the World Cup encounter. Arthur took a dig at the BCCI - the governing body for cricket in India, saying the absence of support for Pakistan in the 132,000-capacity stadium made the occasion look more like "a BCCI event" rather than an international marquee match-up.

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After Pakistanis failed to secure visas from Indian consulates to cross the border, the majority of the Ahmedabad stadium was awash with blue-jersey-wearing Indian supporters, which seemingly didn't go down well with Arthur. 

"It didn't seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) event," said Arthur. 

Arthur accused the stadium's public address system organisers of favouring India by refusing to play "Dil Dil Pakistan", the nation's unofficial anthem.

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"I didn't hear 'Dil Dil Pakistan' ('My heart is Pakistan') coming through too often tonight. So yes, that does play a role, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse."

Despite the bizarre excuses, Arthur admitted that Pakistan's 'timid' playing style was perhaps the reason for the side's downfall. 

"I thought we were a little bit timid. I did think we could probably have taken on the Indian spinners just a little bit more," said Arthur. 

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"I think we've got to realise that there are two ways to always skin a cat. And we've had success by taking it deep and then cashing in at the back end but we couldn't do that," added the former Pakistan coach. 

Also read | ODI World Cup: Rohit Sharma's knock paints Ahmedabad blue as India extend winning record vs Pakistan to 8-0

Aakash Chopra slams Arthur

After Arthur's comments went viral, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra slammed Arthur for making excuses. 

"DJ wale babu mera gana baja do (DJ guy, please play my song)…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," said Chopra on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

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With the win, India now find themselves on top of the points table and well on their way to securing a top 4 finish. The Men-in-Blue will now face Bangladesh next week on Thursday (Oct 19) at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Meanwhile, Pakistan will square up against Australia on Friday (Oct 20) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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