"The talent that Pakistan team has isn't available in the South Africa team" : Wahab Riaz

[Abdullah719]

Wahab Riaz at a media talk ahead of the World Cup match against South Africa:

"I think our people view matches against India almost as a war, in my view nobody is more disappointed that us as a team that we couldn't give our fans some happiness"

"Demoralisation happens when you start doing personal attacks that started happening in the media, you should criticise us and our performances but refrain from personal attacks. We will take criticism the right way and take it positively, but it's best if you keep the discussion away from families"

"Obviously no one in the team was pleased to lose to India, we wanted to do well. You will hopefully see difference in the coming games"

"We don't want to focus on the future, we're just taking things one by one. In the England match we focused on it well and won, in the India match we had it in our hands. We need to improve on these aspects and win the next game"

"Slowly slowly we can qualify. You never know if we win our next 4 matches, and England lose 3 or NZ lose 2 of 3 then there's always a chance. But we want to focus here, how we play against SA"

"We didn't perform as well as we should have and we need to improve on that. Against Australia we were in a good position with the bat but then we gave it away suddenly and the same happened against India. So we need to focus on a few minor things and give our A game"

"Everyone is giving our efforts but we should have done better with the ball. We took wickets, but in the middle overs. In England, you need to strike with the new ball and take wickets upfront. The wickets are high scoring"

"The Australia wicket was a 260-270 pitch, we didn't bowl well and we could have done better. We are working hard for this match and insha'Allah we will make a good comeback"

"The talent that Pakistan team has isn't available in the South Africa team. Their bowlers are good, no doubt, but it all comes down to execution as a team. They have also failed in some aspects and so have we. Whoever handles pressure well here will win"

"It was very good for us to get 2 days off, mentally we took some time off away from cricket, the boys went to roam around a bit and eat food. We're fresh and we know what we did wrong so I think the break was a good thing"

"The morale of the boys is good. I think it's good that we're under so much pressure, you've seen that the Pakistan team has done well under pressure and insha'Allah in the next few games we'll do well and qualify for the semi-finals"

 

[TalhaSyed]

Talent bohot hai!

 

[Madplayer]

Lagta hai is baar loaded piya hai.

 

[junaidji]

Can these guys not keep their mouth shut before the match? Very cringeworthy to say the least, and adds insult to injury when we lose. We all know what "talent" this team has that they just threw away the past 2 games by wrong selections, coin tosses, misfielding, and batting collapses. They should just concentrate on practice and should they choose to interact with media, they need to be humble and respect the opponent.

 

[narayanjan]

Let your cricket do the talking.

 

[Madplayer]

Now south Africa will also demolish these clowns after such claims. Empty vessels make much noise.

 

[Sir-fraz]

It just shows the ego on these guys.. at this point its not confidence

 

[Captain caveman]

Wahab Riaz at a media talk ahead of the World Cup match against South Africa:

"I think our people view matches against India almost as a war, in my view nobody is more disappointed that us as a team that we couldn't give our fans some happiness"

"Demoralisation happens when you start doing personal attacks that started happening in the media, you should criticise us and our performances but refrain from personal attacks. We will take criticism the right way and take it positively, but it's best if you keep the discussion away from families"

"Obviously no one in the team was pleased to lose to India, we wanted to do well. You will hopefully see difference in the coming games"

"We don't want to focus on the future, we're just taking things one by one. In the England match we focused on it well and won, in the India match we had it in our hands. We need to improve on these aspects and win the next game"

"Slowly slowly we can qualify. You never know if we win our next 4 matches, and England lose 3 or NZ lose 2 of 3 then there's always a chance. But we want to focus here, how we play against SA"

"We didn't perform as well as we should have and we need to improve on that. Against Australia we were in a good position with the bat but then we gave it away suddenly and the same happened against India. So we need to focus on a few minor things and give our A game"

"Everyone is giving our efforts but we should have done better with the ball. We took wickets, but in the middle overs. In England, you need to strike with the new ball and take wickets upfront. The wickets are high scoring"

"The Australia wicket was a 260-270 pitch, we didn't bowl well and we could have done better. We are working hard for this match and insha'Allah we will make a good comeback"

"The talent that Pakistan team has isn't available in the South Africa team. Their bowlers are good, no doubt, but it all comes down to execution as a team. They have also failed in some aspects and so have we. Whoever handles pressure well here will win"

"It was very good for us to get 2 days off, mentally we took some time off away from cricket, the boys went to roam around a bit and eat food. We're fresh and we know what we did wrong so I think the break was a good thing"

"The morale of the boys is good. I think it's good that we're under so much pressure, you've seen that the Pakistan team has done well under pressure and insha'Allah in the next few games we'll do well and qualify for the semi-finals"

Some poor comments by wahab, and he is one of the more educated guys in the team!
Should never put any team or players down, even more stupid, when the team you are putting down is ranked above you !

 

[iRfaN_LA]

Some poor comments by wahab, and he is one of the more educated guys in the team!
Should never put any team or players down, even more stupid, when the team you are putting down is ranked above you !

This is where PCB has failed miserably. The need to educate these guys on what to say and when to say or just tell them to shut their mouth.

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

 

[GenericBrand]

This thread is going to be a big hit if SA wins

 

[PakLFC]

Talk is cheap. Prove it or shut up! They are setting themselves up for another defeat by making such ignorant comments.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Did something get lost in translation? Surely, he's not that dumb to say this outright?

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

What's wrong if Wahab called Pakistan more talented than South Africa? He's not the captain and has no obligation to be diplomatic or politically-correct. He just said what he thought, you can disagree with him but there's no need to ostracize him for sounding confident. People here (particualrly some Pakistani fans) seem to have an inferiority complex over how Pakistani players portray Pakistan in press conferences. Time for y'all to grow up.

I would much rather have our players sounding confident and thinking they are good enough to beat South Africa rather than sounding meek and looking demoralized.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

What's wrong if Wahab called Pakistan more talented than South Africa? He's not the captain and has no obligation to be diplomatic or politically-correct. He just said what he thought, you can disagree with him but there's no need to ostracize him for sounding confident. People here (particualrly some Pakistani fans) seem to have an inferiority complex over how Pakistani players portray Pakistan in press conferences. Time for y'all to grow up.

I would much rather have our players sounding confident and thinking they are good enough to beat South Africa rather than sounding meek and looking demoralized.

And for those who only bothered to read the headline, Wahab said that while he thought Pakistan had more talent, execution of skills is everything. And whoever handles pressure best will win the match.

 

[Sunny_majoka]

will see after SA match

 

[Babbar]

Wahab actually said "The TAIL-END that Pakistan team has isn't available in the South Africa team”

Not wrong at all and very humble

 

[Bhaijaan]

Purely in terms of talent, Pakistan is the most gifted cricket nation.

They are the most unpredictable team and when they truly play like cornered tigers there’s no team that can stop them

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Purely in terms of talent, Pakistan is the most gifted cricket nation.

They are the most unpredictable team and when they truly play like cornered tigers there’s no team that can stop them

Haha indeed lol.

No one can beat Pakistan in intangibles.

 

[MMHS]

Purely in terms of talent, Pakistan is the most gifted cricket nation.

They are the most unpredictable team and when they truly play like cornered tigers there’s no team that can stop them

Yes - because, PAK beat ENG for their unpredictable natural talunt .... while SRL beat same ENG, which is an upset, can happen sometimes.

 

[MMHS]

Freelance bhai troll is otherworldly. You just don't realise it. He would put some apparent nonsense and watch other posters swarm like bees to the thread while he would be having a cup of tea.

I know him quite well - and he is not deluded, knows his cricket. I am complementing him for closing the loop (otherwise too many one way open ended statements don't keep the charm longer) and honestly having a cup of coffee right now.

 

[Revolution]

Lol!! As usual Pak team are jokers!!

SA has best bowlers and better batsman than Pak. They are in best in fielding.

I am sure pak will pay the price for these statements.

 

[MMHS]

Lol!! As usual Pak team are jokers!!

SA has best bowlers and better batsman than Pak. They are in best in fielding.

I am sure pak will pay the price for these statements.

You didn't say anything about the Captains though ...............

 

[Dr_Bassim]

With all these permutations going on to force Pakistan to reach semis, most threads might die by tomorrow.

 

[saintgrace]

these guys wont disappoint me. Fun to see them play and fun to see them talk.

 

[DeadlyYorker]

these guys wont disappoint me. Fun to see them play and fun to see them talk.

Bumpable thread for sure

 

[hur rizvi]

Just what you don’t say when you are staring at a World Cup exit

 

[GrandMaster]

Poor comment from Wahab, It’s South Africa and not Afghanistan

 

[mosh101]

All talk, this is what comes back to bite us.

 

[saeedhk]

Pak players always making idiotic statements. Doesn’t suit a team which is 9th on the WC points table and got thrashed by India recently. Classless players.

 

[MenInG]

Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz believes that his team can come back strongly if they "lift" themselves ahead of their remaining matches at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019.

Pakistan, after back-to-back defeats to Australia and India, find themselves in danger of being out of the race to the semi-finals. Wahab, however, is confident of his team's revival as they take on South Africa at Lord's on Sunday.

"We have to lift ourselves. We are each other's strength. We are all good friends and know that only 15 of us can lift the team which not even our family members can do. Pakistan plays better under pressure and we will qualify for the finals and semi-finals," he said.

The left-arm pacer believes that lack of wickets with the new ball hasn't helped the team's cause in the previous two games. "As a bowling unit we are trying hard, We are all focused to do well in the South Africa match. You need wickets upfront in England but we were not getting that.

"Our focus is on beating South Africa, and we know we shouldn't get ahead or think about the future. We need to go one by one by what to do everyday. On what we do in the now and not what is happening elsewhere. We shouldn't be thinking about the future," he added.

Wahab, who picked up three wickets against England at Trent Bridge - his team's only win at the World Cup so far, also thinks that 'handling the pressure better' will be the key for both the teams, when they face-off on Sunday.

"Execution of skills is everything," he said. "They have failed in that aspect as well like we did, we had matches we could have won. In this match it depends on who handles pressure better and plays better. They will win."

The 33-year-old who had produced one of the finest spells in World Cup history, when he bowled a series of short-balls at Shane Watson in the quarterfinals of the previous edition, is confident that his team will rise up from their mistakes. "Good teams are those that discuss and talk about their mistakes openly to each other and we've done that. We will make up for our mistakes."

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1253118

 

[Mamoon]

The most pathetic presser of the World Cup, fully encapsulating the rotten mentality of Pakistan cricket.

 

[Saj]

"It was very good for us to get 2 days off, mentally we took some time off away from cricket, the boys went to roam around a bit and eat food.

Hmm. Just hope it was the right kind of food.

 

[PakWarrior]

Is it just me or does it seem like these guys JUST DON'T GET IT. They don't understand why the uproar took place after the videos showing their shenanigans at the burger joints and shisha bars.

Even from this Wahab interview there is a sense of nonchalance and bravado. I think the whole squad is in denial.

 

[Bowled]

Talent Bohot Hai!

Talent bohot hai!

Talent without application and common sense, comes to absolutely nothing. The self proclaimed talent too, is rater mediocre, compared to the talent, both with bat and ball, on display in the World Cup.

 

[sivanand82]

What's wrong if Wahab called Pakistan more talented than South Africa? He's not the captain and has no obligation to be diplomatic or politically-correct. He just said what he thought, you can disagree with him but there's no need to ostracize him for sounding confident. People here (particualrly some Pakistani fans) seem to have an inferiority complex over how Pakistani players portray Pakistan in press conferences. Time for y'all to grow up.

I would much rather have our players sounding confident and thinking they are good enough to beat South Africa rather than sounding meek and looking demoralized.

He could have sounded confident by emphasizing the strength of his team without putting down the other team. At-least from the outside it looks as a resort of insecure team with a crumbling position trying to appear confident.

 

[MenInG]

"It was very good for us to get 2 days off, mentally we took some time off away from cricket, the boys went to roam around a bit and eat food.

Hmm. Just hope it was the right kind of food.

Wrong thing to say at the wrong time - PCB needs to brief their players carefully.

 

[AAli98]

Wahab (110 10 overs) Riaz talks too much for a player who has lost pak matches more than he has won!!

Luckily we only have to put up with him for 4 more matches before his miserable career cones to an end.

 

[Red Devil]

They always make idiotic comments like these and fire up the opposition.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Can this guy be dropped forever for gods sake.

Didnt warrant a selection, came thru the seniority clout.

Should be dropped for SA match to show where he belongs to and give chance to SSA and Hasnain

Only pak can have such bowlers in their lineup to play for 9 years inspite of not having swing, seam and length improved by a bowler after playing for 9 years.

His time should have been over by the CT17. Pak dropped him and they went on to win the tournament. Pls do the same.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Wahab (110 10 overs) Riaz talks too much for a player who has lost pak matches more than he has won!!

Luckily we only have to put up with him for 4 more matches before his miserable career cones to an end.

End now. Make him , hasan ali and malik injured and bring back junaid khan, shinwari and rizwan

 

[Hawkeye]

Wahab runs in hard and gives his 100 percent.

-Wasim Akram.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Pak has no talent, all they do is burst into the international setup with a bang and then go downhill, deteriorate forever until they were kicked backed to go and work on the domestics. And the cycle continues. So far only Amir and Babar stood tall to compete at the internation stage when the opponents have learnt of their techniques. Rest all are cut from the same piece of wood

 

[Sami92]

Wrong time to say such things.

 

[Hasan123]

Pathetic comments. It's not all about talent but for your information Wahab South Africa do have talented players and they come through a better domestic system.

You guys best perform tommorow.

 

[Green Patriot]

Do our players have no education whatsoever on how to talk to the media.
They always end up saying stuff that makes them sound arrogant and bigheaded and should be avoided.

 

[CrIc_Mystique]

gee whiz...he's 33...did'nt realize....i mean this is one statement taken out of context and he meant something else...but was these kinda statementsnecessary?

 

[TalhaSyed]

Talent without application and common sense, comes to absolutely nothing. The self proclaimed talent too, is rater mediocre, compared to the talent, both with bat and ball, on display in the World Cup.

Nahi nahi....humare paas talent bohot hai

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Pak players will always be the world champs for talking a good game. If you could get trophies for huge, yet totally unjustified egos, Pakistan would be world champs!

 

[MRSN]

Nahi nahi....humare paas talent bohot hai

"Tailunt"

 

[MenInG]

Pathetic comments. It's not all about talent but for your information Wahab South Africa do have talented players and they come through a better domestic system.

You guys best perform tommorow.

Therein lies the problem.

 

[Zaz]

Whats the need for statements? After everything thats going on and the poor performances its better to keep your head down n concentrate on preparation

I dont see any other teams players making comments esp outlandish ones about having more talent etc etc

Why is he even talking out about going out n eating food after all thats gone in

Its brainless stuff on and off the field

 

[abdulrafay33]

Such a huge embarrassment for all of us!

 

[TalhaSyed]

"Tailunt"

Apologies for my spelling mistake and thank you for the correction

 

[MoJoJoJo]

Reminds me of Ab when he said that most of the pak spin bowlers are part timers in kinda arrogant way just before pak sa ct game. He went on to score his lone golden duck in that game by getting out to a part timer lol.
But i guess Wahab got misinterpreted abit. Can't make a judgement without listening to his interview.

 

[Abdullah719]

Did something get lost in translation? Surely, he's not that dumb to say this outright?

"Mera khayal hai ke Pakistan team kay pass jo talent hai wo South Africa ke pass nahi hai"

 

[waleed88]

"Mera khayal hai ke Pakistan team kay pass jo talent hai wo South Africa ke pass nahi hai"

Welcome to the next gen of Pakistani cricketers. Who less talented and more bullish in their statements. This is akin to Imam ul Haq's 'Mitchell Starc is not a threat anymore' and some of the other ignorant trash I have been hearing from our players whenever they go in a press conference... The more cocky they sound the more trash they've become.

You would think Wahab has been taking wickets left right and center giving such statements like these. With social media and the larger than life profile every player is trying to achieve, we seem to be getting more worse as a team.

I was cringing at Mohammad Amir celebrating his 5 wickets after a lost game with the hashtag DhanaDhanGreen, but atleast he had taken wickets and is one of the top wicket takers. Some of our players have taken all talk and no action to the next level.

 

[sshakir411]

Maaf karde. Whatever talent there is in the team you have none of it. True parcheee of this squad

 

[Ganju Baba]

"Mera khayal hai ke Pakistan team kay pass jo talent hai wo South Africa ke pass nahi hai"

It's okay if he is being this cocky just for the sake of it. If I were a PCT I'd be really worried if really truly believes in it.

 

[sharmaji]

I agree with Wahab. PCT is good enough to beat any side. They just have to play as a team and be alert and smart throughout the match.

 

[ak619]

I agree with Wahab. PCT is good enough to beat any side. They just have to play as a team and be alert and smart throughout the match.

Pakistan mein tailunt bohoot hain... Bas yeh wala tailunt nahi hain.

 

[Usman Chadda]

"Mera khayal hai ke Pakistan team kay pass jo talent hai wo South Africa ke pass nahi hai"

Wow. That's a shameful comment.

 

[ExplicitAI]

Nothing wrong with talking big, lets see how much you've prepared for this match. Giving statements like this without backing them up with strong performances leading to wins is criminal.

 

[waleed88]

Nothing wrong with talking big, lets see how much you've prepared for this match. Giving statements like this without backing them up with strong performances leading to wins is criminal.

Im not sure you have been following the trend.

Starc is not a big threat - Imam is the buffoon who hasn't done anything since that statement.

The same for Wahab...

The same for Hasan Ali who was jumping around at the Wagah Border but got taken apart by a rampant sharma when the time came....

All these gimmicks are great if they bear any results

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

He could have sounded confident by emphasizing the strength of his team without putting down the other team. At-least from the outside it looks as a resort of insecure team with a crumbling position trying to appear confident.

Like I said, he has no reason to sound diplomatic. He's just voicing his opinion. And it's not like he said Pakistan is a better team.

 

[Ronaldo7]

Im not sure you have been following the trend.

Starc is not a big threat - Imam is the buffoon who hasn't done anything since that statement.

The same for Wahab...

The same for Hasan Ali who was jumping around at the Wagah Border but got taken apart by a rampant sharma when the time came....

All these gimmicks are great if they bear any results

In defense to Imam, he played Starc really well

 

[nads_rocks]

Pakistan players must be the only ones who come out with this nonsense ahead of every game!
This is why they can't win because they are just all talk over confident bunch of brainless losers!

 

[DeadBall]

Talent ka achaar dalna hai kya.

 

[JaDed]

Seriously there was a time you would take such statements seriously, now it just feels a standard response with no substance.

Even today when I could go and watch India vs Pak match highlights as i missed the live version, I actually ended up watching 2002 Sharjah final Pak vs Lanka and remembered how Pak dismissing Lanka from 52-1 to 78 all out in the final.

The current Pak bowlers just wish they could do that, even Amir is just a half the bowlers WWS were.

 

[BaankeJi]

Wahab runs in hard and gives his 100 percent.

-Wasim Akram.

But his 100 percent is less than 50 percent of Amir.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Seriously there was a time you would take such statements seriously, now it just feels a standard response with no substance.

Even today when I could go and watch India vs Pak match highlights as i missed the live version, I actually ended up watching 2002 Sharjah final Pak vs Lanka and remembered how Pak dismissing Lanka from 52-1 to 78 all out in the final.

The current Pak bowlers just wish they could do that, even Amir is just a half the bowlers WWS were.

Not many bowling attacks nowadays are capable of such destruction. Probably only Boult, when he's in the zone, can cut through a batting line-up. Modern day cricket has improved on that aspect.

 

[JaDed]

Not many bowling attacks nowadays are capable of such destruction. Probably only Boult, when he's in the zone, can cut through a batting line-up. Modern day cricket has improved on that aspect.

Boult is great to watch, yes Middle order for most teams is able to absorb pressure and not panic as before, but still even in that match you could see Shoaib, Wasim ripping early on and then Waqar taking out the end,but nowadays here absolutely seems to be timid bowling by PCT when things are against them and Sharjah brings out even worse among them which so was not the case for the longest time, the only reason its weird for me is coz have seen PCT on high and then you have this guy making such statements still and so many weird statements by him offlate and is probably not even better than Sami.

 

[Afhan Ali]

I never expect this type of funny statement from Wahab, but as like every other player he also talk rubbish
Now I'm expecting another humiliated defeat from SA.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Boult is great to watch, yes Middle order for most teams is able to absorb pressure and not panic as before, but still even in that match you could see Shoaib, Wasim ripping early on and then Waqar taking out the end,but nowadays here absolutely seems to be timid bowling by PCT when things are against them and Sharjah brings out even worse among them which so was not the case for the longest time, the only reason its weird for me is coz have seen PCT on high and then you have this guy making such statements still and so many weird statements by him offlate and is probably not even better than Sami.

Shoaib, Wasim and Waqar were world-class pace bowlers at a time when pace bowling still had meaning to it. Teams don't collapse like that to good bowling anymore. Even when they do, it's because batsmen are playing dumb shots and not necessarily due to good bowling. I doubt the aforementioned would have instigated such dramatic collapses in this day and age. If you remember, Shoaib struggled in the latter half of his career (just when modern day cricket was beginning to pick up).

Yeah Wahab's statement is childish, as Rabada is better than all our bowlers combined. I hope he doesn't get revved up and hit form against us

 

[The_Odd_One]

I agree with Wahab on this. South Africa is a rubbish team with only two good players, De Kock and Rabada. The rest are either over the hill or bang mediocre. There are dark days ahead for South Africa.

 

[waleed88]

In defense to Imam, he played Starc really well

He was 25 off 44 and 53 off 75 in a run chase of 309. That's pathetic and criminal

 

[waleed88]

I agree with Wahab on this. South Africa is a rubbish team with only two good players, De Kock and Rabada. The rest are either over the hill or bang mediocre. There are dark days ahead for South Africa.

You can still give the opposition respect. And if they are a pretty bad team we are standing 2nd last in the tournament right now

 

[chacha kashmiri]

I agree with Wahab on this. South Africa is a rubbish team with only two good players, De Kock and Rabada. The rest are either over the hill or bang mediocre. There are dark days ahead for South Africa.

Without staine they have looked devoid of any ideas
Rabada looks lost this World Cup and Chris Morris looks like car crash survivor of Lance klusener

Their prime weapon is a 40 year old bowler they nicked from Pakistan

 

[MenInG]

So was Wahab right?

His own bowling - not too sure when it comes to talent.

 

[MenInG]

Wahab following up his words with some action as well!