LAHORE – Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ijaz Butt Friday expressed satisfaction over the performance of the national team in the World Cup, where it reached the semi-finals despite the preparations being hit hard by scandals and controversies.
“In that context I am very satisfied with the way the team has performed in the World Cup. The players and management have shown lot of character to do so well when virtually everybody had written them off,” Butt said. The performance of the team in the World Cup would eventually help Pakistan convince other boards to send their teams to Pakistan for international matches, he said.
Pakistan lost to arch-rivals India in the semi-finals at Mohali. They defeated Australia in the league stage and topped their group. Butt said that Pakistan could have won the World Cup if the team had the opportunity of playing international matches at home.
“I think the fact that our team has not been able to play at home since 2009 has also affected our progress and preparations for the World Cup and also our performance. It makes a big difference when players get a chance to play regular international matches at home,” he said.
“We have no choice but to play our ‘home’ series at neutral venues to keep our cricket going but it is a fact that this is something that has hit our progress and growth as a top team,” he said. Butt noted that the Indo-Pakistan semifinal in Mohali had broken the ice and would eventually lead the way to the resumption of bilateral cricket ties with India.
Asked about the decision to omit fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar from the semi-final, Butt said this was a decision taken by the tour selection committee and management who felt Wahab Riaz was a better choice for the high-voltage match.
