Can’t blame any result, but India lacked intent in Eng WC game: Hafeez

Lahore, June 15 (IANS) Veteran Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez on Monday said India did not show intent during their 2019 World Cup game against England and he was let down as a cricket fan.

In the match at Birmingham, India were comprehensively beaten by 31 runs after failing to chase England’s score of 337/7 last year. Pakistan missed out on a semifinal berth as a result of that game and crashed out of the tournament.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes recently said he was a bit surprised with the way in which the Indian players looked to plan the chase. And while many former Pakistan cricketers looked to use that statement to prove their point that India lost the game to keep Pakistan from qualifying for the knockout stages, Hafeez has said that there was no intent to play with spirit.

“Ask any cricket fan, everyone will say intent to play with spirit was not there. I don’t know about the results and who went out because of that. We played good cricket and we were out because of our small mistakes. So I can’t blame any result for that,” Hafeez, who was part of the 2019 World Cup, told reporters during a video conference facilitated by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

“But as a fan if I see the match, I did not see the match winning intent. I felt bad for the sport. The encounter factor was missing where both teams were playing to win. The mistakes we made, we failed to tick a few boxes in the 2019 World Cup. But as a fan, that is my opinion about that game,” added the 39-year old who has been named in the 29-member Pakistan squad for three Tests and as many T20Is against England to be played in August-September.

–IANS

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