Pakistan Cricket Board chief and former cricketer Ramiz Raja took a familiar jibe at India while hailing his team’s players who made it into the finals of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. Team India were unable to join arch-rivals in the summit game after bowing out against England in the second semi-final on Thursday.
Analysis, opinions, trolling and taunts are galore since the Men in Blue were left gutted in the T20 World Cup 2022 final four debacle. The latest taunt comes from Raja, who on Friday reached Australia to watch Pakistan play the final against England on Sunday.
Talking to journalists after his arrival, Raja used the “billion dollar” tag to refer to India while hailing the performance of Babar Azam-led Pakistan side at the tournament. The PCB chief said that Pakistan had left behind teams backed by billion dollar industries, referring to India and the IPL.
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"Aap dekhiye world cricket kitne peeche reh gayi, aur Pakistan kitna aage nikal aya hai. Billion dollar industry wali teams peeche reh gayi hai and hum jo hai upar nikal gaye hai. To koi cheez to thik kar rahey hai na hum. To usko ap enjoy bhi karein. Aur is team pe hath halka rakhe. Kyuki ap ye bhi dekhe at the end of the day ye hamare heroes hai. (You can see how Pakistan has gone ahead leaving world cricket behind. Teams with billion dollar industries have been left behind while we [Pakistan] have risen above. And don’t keep a heavy hand on this team, because you will see at the end of the day that these are our heroes.),” Raja was quoted to have said.
The ‘billion dollar’ jibe at India has been used by Raja before. The PCB chief had remarked ahead of the T20 World Cup that the Pakistan team deserved credit for beating the billion dollar Indian team.
The comments also come after the recent row between the PCB and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over India not interested in playing Asia Cup 2023 in Pakistan when the nation hosts it next year. BCCI general secretary Jay Shah had said that India won’t travel for Pakistan and that the Board had decided that the tournament will be held at a neutral venue. In response, the PCB had threatened to not come to India for the ODI World Cup, also in 2023.
Meanwhile, Pakistan now are a step away from T20 World Cup glory after beating New Zealand in the first semi-final on Wednesday. They now face England in the final on Sunday, November 13, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) at 1:30 pm (IST).
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