Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez called on his compatriots not to be bad losers and accept victory and defeat in the same manner after his team crashed out of the World Twenty20 tournament in Bangladesh.
Hafeez told reporters after returning from Dhaka early on Thursday that the side were disappointed by the way they lost to the West Indies in the final must-win group game.
“I think when we can celebrate victory passionately than we must also not be bad losers and accept the West Indies were better than us,” Hafeez said.
Hafeez and his team have been under fire from former players and pundits since the crushing defeat, the first time Pakistan have failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the World T20 since its inception in 2007.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Najam Sethi has summoned Hafeez, head coach Moin Khan and the team’s cricket consultant Zaheer Abbas for a meeting.
“The Chairman has called us and all of us will sit down and look into the causes of our defeat. We must learn from it and move on,” the Pakistan captain said.
Asked if he was willing to step down, Hafeez said he had been given a job by the board and he tried to do it diligently.
“This is a decision for the board to make. They will decide whether they want me to continue as captain or someone else. I can’t say much on it,” he said.
Experienced Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi criticised his team mates after returning to his hometown of Karachi.
“We didn’t play aggressive and positive cricket like we did against Australia,” he said. “We played with a negative mindset and we lost.”
