"There is no doubt India deliberately lost to England in the 2019 World Cup" : Abdul Razzaq

[MenInG]

"There is no doubt India deliberately lost to England in the 2019 World Cup" : Abdul Razzaq

Speaking on TV:

Abdul Razzaq

"We as TV presenters on that day all felt the same; I had requested to the ICC that yes you are keeping all sorts of sanctions for match/spot fixing but in cases where a team deliberately loses a game to try and disqualify another like making sure Pakistan did not get to semi-finals, there should be a fine and penalty for this also"

How easy would it be to prove this?

"Those who have played cricket before can see through this; If a quality bowler is not bowling on the right line and length and not trying to take wickets, is giving away runs then he can be picked up easily; You can tell if he is doing that deliberately"

"This should be part of the ICC rules and regulations - in the same way they have Level 1,2..5 breaches etc then they should also include that in one of the levels, so that if a team deliberately loses, doesn't play to its caliber then there will be a fine on them"

Is there any doubt that India lost this game deliberately

"There is no doubt about this - we said this before and all cricketers are saying that - as I said, you can see this clearly; A player can hit a six but he is hitting a four or blocking the ball then that is easy to see"


Mushtaq Ahmed:

"The statement from Ben Stokes which he has made in his book must have opened eyes [to the truth of this issue] of stake holders of Indian cricket and their players; This is because their opposition [England] have realized that"

"I was there during the World Cup and [from what I saw] when you have 10 runs per over left to get, with 10 overs to go and you have wickets in hand, and you don't show intent which means that you have to take a chance [to get to the target]"

"From a cricketing point of view, in a match like this which you are taking to the end, you know you have 4 fielders outside the circle, and 5 are inside the circle in normal circumstances, you have to take chances and target opposition bowlers and go after their weak links"

"Ben Stokes has said this very bluntly, and this is the same thing Waqar and I also discussed the same during that time"

"I was told by few WI players like Jason Holder, Chris Gayle and Andre Russell that Mushy they don't want to see Pakistan [qualify] - they were saying that the next day"

"There is no rocket science in this - even Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton had said the same at that point"

"We have a phrase called 'mother cricket' which means that if you mess with cricket then fate has a way of getting its own"

"So when India was so overconfident and it was being said that India will win etc"

"We are only talking about India's batting now but even the intent of their bowling was the same if you look at the England innings"

"When you get top 2-3 wickets early you as captain look to finish off the game early and not stretch it too far; You don't allow them to build a partnership - 337 should not have been allowed to be scored"

"Now Indian cricketers cannot look other teams in the eye for the next 4-5 years"

"You cannot take this to ICC without evidence but [the Stokes statement] is more than enough as the whole world has found out how this match was played"

"ICC should make sure that no player makes a statement like this as it should be the ICC who should have asked BCCI that what was your management doing at that point and that we have a doubt on that game"

"To save cricket such issues should be raised at the time when the incident happened"

 

[MenInG]

Sensible stuff from Mushtaq - hope Pakistan dont raise this in an ICC meeting.

 

[Rana]

The integrity of one of India’s most decorated captain/player is being questioned here.

Surely MSD needs to come out and defend himself? This isn’t angry Pakistanis accusing him of purposely underperforming or clearly not showing intent. This is from Ben Stokes, one of the greatest ever ODI cricketers making this accusation.

 

[Mesozoic]

The integrity of one of India’s most decorated captain/player is being questioned here.

Surely MSD needs to come out and defend himself? This isn’t angry Pakistanis accusing him of purposely underperforming or clearly not showing intent. This is from Ben Stokes, one of the greatest ever ODI cricketers making this accusation.

Did Stokes say that Dhoni intentionally played slow to oust Pakistan from the world cup ?

Don't be that desperate now. There's a world of difference between saying "his intent/lack of it was surprising" and downright accusing him of losing intentionally to keep a certain team out like Pakistanis are/have been doing since that game. He has no reason to come out and defend himself from baseless accusations from some attention seeking Pak ex-cricketer.

 

[MenInG]

Did Stokes say that Dhoni intentionally played slow to oust Pakistan from the world cup ?

Don't be that desperate now. There's a world of difference between saying "his intent/lack of it was surprising" and downright accusing him of losing intentionally to keep a certain team out like Pakistanis are/have been doing since that game. He has no reason to come out and defend himself from baseless accusations from some attention seeking Pak ex-cricketer.

Oh please.

Are you saying that MSD after year of experience suddenly froze?

Lets not be so naive.

 

[Swashbuckler]

MS played a similar innings against the same opponent in 2nd ODI of the 2018 tour, for those who have followed India matches he has played half a dozen similar innings in the last 5 years. He simply can't chase high totals like he used to 10-15 years back.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18018/scorecard/1119547/england-vs-india-2nd-odi-ind-in-eng-2018

 

[Mesozoic]

Oh please.

Are you saying that MSD after year of experience suddenly froze?

Lets not be so naive.

What's naive in that ?

Did you see how Dhoni batted in the semi against New Zealand? He was leaving balls outside off stump against Jimmy Neesham of all people when required RR was above 10. Everyone and their dog knows that Dhoni post 2015 is not the same destructive power hitter that once he was. And by 2018/19 , he was all done and dusted. He has been "freezing" way too regularly at this point. Just check how he got booed by the Lords crowd for his lack of intent in an ODI in 2018.

Whatever happened in that WC game has nothing to do with Pakistan.

 

[Mesozoic]

MS played a similar innings against the same opponent in 2nd ODI of the 2018 tour, for those who have followed India matches he has played half a dozen similar innings in the last 5 years. He simply can't chase high totals like he used to 10-15 years back.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18018/scorecard/1119547/england-vs-india-2nd-odi-ind-in-eng-2018

Yes this is the game I'm talking about.

 

[MenInG]

What's naive in that ?

Did you see how Dhoni batted in the semi against New Zealand? He was leaving balls outside off stump against Jimmy Neesham of all people when required RR was above 10. Everyone and their dog knows that Dhoni post 2015 is not the same destructive power hitter that once he was. And by 2018/19 , he was all done and dusted. He has been "freezing" way too regularly at this point. Just check how he got booed by the Lords crowd for his lack of intent in an ODI in 2018.

Whatever happened in that WC game has nothing to do with Pakistan.

Also read what else Razzaq said about the England innings also - this wasn't just one player doing this as that would have been awkward.

 

[Mueez]

You know what although there is no doubt India deliberately lost that match... but we cannot neglect that Dhoni isn’t the same finisher which he used to be.

So no point to blame him for the loss.

 

[Mueez]

Pakistan should have won their first match.

Had they won that they wouldn’t have to rely on other teams.

It was our own fault

 

[Swashbuckler]

"We are only talking about India's batting now but even the intent of their bowling was the same if you look at the England innings"

"When you get top 2-3 wickets early you as captain look to finish off the game early and not stretch it too far; You don't allow them to build a partnership - 337 should not have been allowed to be scored"

Factually wrong, Eng were 160/0 after 22 overs, India did well to restrict them to 337 when it looked like they would get 400-450.

 

[Swashbuckler]

What's naive in that ?

Did you see how Dhoni batted in the semi against New Zealand? He was leaving balls outside off stump against Jimmy Neesham of all people when required RR was above 10. Everyone and their dog knows that Dhoni post 2015 is not the same destructive power hitter that once he was. And by 2018/19 , he was all done and dusted. He has been "freezing" way too regularly at this point. Just check how he got booed by the Lords crowd for his lack of intent in an ODI in 2018.

Whatever happened in that WC game has nothing to do with Pakistan.

Yeah that SF innings was 10 times worse, he was leaving balls outside off stump in 45th and 46th over when we had to go at 11 rpo. Only because of his pointless plodding did Jadeja lose his wicket. MS apart from the 2011 WC final has been very mediocre in WCs, especiallly the big matches. May get some runs but no impact, no use for the team's chances.

 

[Mesozoic]

Also read what else Razzaq said about the England innings also - this wasn't just one player doing this as that would have been awkward.

What he said about the England innings just proves how clueless he is/has been for years.

"When you get top 2-3 wickets early you as captain look to finish off the game early and not stretch it too far; You don't allow them to build a partnership - 337 should not have been allowed to be scored"



I don't think he even watched the game. Restricting English to 337 was actually a commendable effort by our bowlers after the kind of start their openers gave them.

Just Razzaq being clueless and seeking for attention again. Nothing new.

 

[Mamoon]

There is a world of difference between questioning someone’s intent and accusing someone of fixing.

Everyone questioned Misbah’s intent in Mohali but no one accused him of wanting his team to lose the match.

Dhoni’s integrity is not under question but only his strategy during that chase is.

The notion that Dhoni deliberately underperformed to oust Pakistan has no legs for the following two reasons:

(1) these days, Dhoni bats in the same fashion nearly every single time. He is no longer the explosive, high impact player he once was. That is why Indian fans have been very keen to see him retire. He is a shell of his former self.

It is not as if he was smacking bowlers all over the UK before deciding to do tuk tuk against England. He scored 42 in 31 balls which is as quick as he can bat these days.

England’s death bowling in the latter half of the World Cup was very effective. We saw that against India, against New Zealand in the final and against Australia in the semifinal. They bowled very smartly and Morgan was brilliant with his field placings, and all these teams failed to score big against them in the last few overs.

India scored 72 in the last 10 overs.

New Zealand scored 62 runs in the last 10 overs of the World Cup final with 5 wickets in hand.

Australia could only add 48 in the last 9 overs in spite of having a well-set Smith at the crease.

In the group match between England and New Zealand, a match that New Zealand had to win to keep our losers in the World Cup, Williamson and Taylor batted at a strike rate of 65 while chasing 306.

Did anyone accuse them of fixing or deliberately throwing the match, or are those reservations reserved for Indian players only?

(2) Dhoni is the most decorated captain in history. He has played enough cricket to understand the fact that eliminating England at the expense of Pakistan would have greatly boosted India’s chance of winning the World Cup.

Pakistani fans like to live in their own world where they would have repeated the Champions Trophy heroics had the qualified for the semifinals, but the reality is that facing Pakistan in the semifinal would have been a far more favorable outcome for India or Australia than facing Pakistan, simply because England is a far better team and the pre-tournament favorites to win the World Cup.

Any sensible person would have wanted to face Pakistan rather England in the semifinal or final of the 2019 World Cup.

However, if Dhoni is so anti-Pakistan that he would sabotage his own team’s quest of winning the World Cup to dump Pakistan out of the World Cup, well in that case I would say well done.

If we weren’t such losers and if our team wasn’t a pile of steaming rubbish that lost 3 of its first 4 matches to West Indies, Australia and India, we wouldn’t be in a position where our fate would be in the hands of India.

Besides, the Pakistani fans and the experts who cannot stop moaning about Dhoni allegedly dumping their pathetic team out of the World Cup should be reminded of the 2009 Champions Trophy where Pakistan blatantly underperformed against Australia to ensure that India are eliminated, and I duly remember Pakistani fans encouraging their team to lose that match in order to eliminate India.

The same fans are now crying when the show is on the other foot. If Dhoni should be inspected for match-fixing based on how he played against England, the entire Pakistan team that played against Australia should be inspected as well.

That is the only response that Dhoni needs to give. He was the captain of India in that tournament when he saw his team eliminated because of the lack of sportsmanship of the Pakistani team.

Stokes needs to add spice to his book to sell copies and he has done well to ensure that Pakistani and Indian fans will now buy his book, but and Mushtaq Ahmed and Razzaq are nobodies compared to Dhoni and they are not worth his time and effort.

At times, well most of the times, I feel embarrassed and ashamed to be a Pakistani supporter. Our fans and ex-players are completely and utterly deluded and don’t have a clue about how pathetic our team is.

They have actually convinced themselves that India saw Pakistan as a bigger threat in the World Cup and were scared of a Champions Trophy repeat which is why they wanted Pakistan out.

This rotten, deluded mentality will ensure that Pakistan remains a mediocre, mid-table team.

 

[Rana]

Did Stokes say that Dhoni intentionally played slow to oust Pakistan from the world cup ?

Don't be that desperate now. There's a world of difference between saying "his intent/lack of it was surprising" and downright accusing him of losing intentionally to keep a certain team out like Pakistanis are/have been doing since that game. He has no reason to come out and defend himself from baseless accusations from some attention seeking Pak ex-cricketer.

Ben Stokes was not born yesterday and he is not oblivious to tensions between India and Pakistan. In fact, if there is one major superstar in world cricket who I would expect to speak his mind without caring about the consequences is Ben Stokes. He didn’t irresponsibly just make a statement that would confirm the suspicion of legends like Waqar Younis. This is the same MSD who encourages the Indian team to wear Army caps during an ODI.


MIG said it pretty well, don’t be so naive

 

[Titan24]

MS played a similar innings against the same opponent in 2nd ODI of the 2018 tour, for those who have followed India matches he has played half a dozen similar innings in the last 5 years. He simply can't chase high totals like he used to 10-15 years back.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18018/scorecard/1119547/england-vs-india-2nd-odi-ind-in-eng-2018

Dhoni has been a great cricketer and leader but example you have given only puts more doubt on him being a bit shady on occasions. It is probably not a coincidence that his IPL side got banned and one of the topics which came out was their match vs Rajasthan in which a total was already pre decided and they played the match in such a way.

Even if we take Pakistan’s perspective completely out of the world cup game it was shady for anyone witnessing it. Not to forget players on the field like Stokes was, they know the game and situations inside out after playing for 10+ years at different levels.

I rate Dhoni really highly and have been a fan of his leadership as well as his finishing and its pretty disappointing what we all have seen in last few years. Its difficult to call it just a coincidence when a man got dragged into so many questions in IPL, in bilateral and now WC.

 

[Rana]

lol to the jokers who argue that Dhoni batted the same way against New Zealand. Dhoni had the game won in his mind, he really upped the ante right in the last few overs of the game, the six he hit was all part of his supposed plan of eventually chasing the score down and how he would back himself to take India home like he has done many times in the past. It was the freak run out by Guptil that ended India’s chances of lifting the World Cup, not Dhoni’s supposed lack of intent

Also there is a big difference in grinding, churning singles when you are trying to chase 337 as compared to 230 odd and you have lost 5 Major wickets at the top. To me, Dhoni’s innings up to that point was excellent, that’s how you bat on a slow, low deck in England when wickets are falling.

 

[Moh@n]

Very well put by [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] in post #15.

Also, oldies like me would remember the Asian Test Championship in 1999, where Wasim ensured a lame draw against Sri Lanka to make sure India don't reach the final.

This has been happening since ages. Moral of the story is, don't perform so bad that other teams can decide your fate.

 

[Mesozoic]

Ben Stokes was not born yesterday and he is not oblivious to tensions between India and Pakistan. In fact, if there is one major superstar in world cricket who I would expect to speak his mind without caring about the consequences is Ben Stokes. He didn’t irresponsibly just make a statement that would confirm the suspicion of legends like Waqar Younis. This is the same MSD who encourages the Indian team to wear Army caps during an ODI.


MIG said it pretty well, don’t be so naive

I'm sorry to burst your bubble but the world doesn't revolve around Pakistan. Not once did Stokes mention Pak nor did he make any irresponsible statement. Saying "it was strange" and saying "he deliberately underperformed" are two completely different things. Anyways, he also mentioned this part which you'd ignore for obvious reasons.


“There is a theory in our camp that Dhoni’s way of playing has always been the same. Even if India can’t win the game, he takes it right to the end to try to make sure that India’s run rate stays relatively healthy,” Stokes wrote.

“His big thing has always been to give himself a chance of winning by being at the crease for the final over, but he generally likes to stick around to get as close to a target as possible even in a losing cause.”

I don't know what wearing army caps and expressing solidarity with your armed forces has to do with this. As i said earlier , don't be that desperate.

 

[Bewal Express]

If Ind had to win to go through then Ind would have chased differently but in the end they were more than happy to knock out PK. But tbh, we would have done the same and our problem came from the horrendous performance against a poor Windies team.

 

[Rana]

If Ind had to win to go through then Ind would have chased differently but in the end they were more than happy to knock out PK. But tbh, we would have done the same and our problem came from the horrendous performance against a poor Windies team.

Lol no think we are not strong enough to decide who we would like to face in the semis and who we would choose to knock out

 

[Rana]

I'm sorry to burst your bubble but the world doesn't revolve around Pakistan. Not once did Stokes mention Pak nor did he make any irresponsible statement. Saying "it was strange" and saying "he deliberately underperformed" are two completely different things. Anyways, he also mentioned this part which you'd ignore for obvious reasons.


“There is a theory in our camp that Dhoni’s way of playing has always been the same. Even if India can’t win the game, he takes it right to the end to try to make sure that India’s run rate stays relatively healthy,” Stokes wrote.

“His big thing has always been to give himself a chance of winning by being at the crease for the final over, but he generally likes to stick around to get as close to a target as possible even in a losing cause.”

I don't know what wearing army caps and expressing solidarity with your armed forces has to do with this. As i said earlier , don't be that desperate.

I didn’t write this in my book, Ben Stokes did. I just think an explanation/clarification by MSD would be enough to settle the matter.

 

[Mesozoic]

I didn’t write this in my book, Ben Stokes did. I just think an explanation/clarification by MSD would be enough to settle the matter.

Fair enough.

 

[Mamoon]

Very well put by [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] in post #15.

Also, oldies like me would remember the Asian Test Championship in 1999, where Wasim ensured a lame draw against Sri Lanka to make sure India don't reach the final.

This has been happening since ages. Moral of the story is, don't perform so bad that other teams can decide your fate.

I'm sorry to burst your bubble but the world doesn't revolve around Pakistan. Not once did Stokes mention Pak nor did he make any irresponsible statement. Saying "it was strange" and saying "he deliberately underperformed" are two completely different things. Anyways, he also mentioned this part which you'd ignore for obvious reasons.


“There is a theory in our camp that Dhoni’s way of playing has always been the same. Even if India can’t win the game, he takes it right to the end to try to make sure that India’s run rate stays relatively healthy,” Stokes wrote.

“His big thing has always been to give himself a chance of winning by being at the crease for the final over, but he generally likes to stick around to get as close to a target as possible even in a losing cause.”

I don't know what wearing army caps and expressing solidarity with your armed forces has to do with this. As i said earlier , don't be that desperate.

It is just a waste of time because our fans are exhibiting classic compensation. Pakistan is a cricket country with 60+ years of cricket heritage and has given the game some truly incredible cricketers.

That is why it is extremely hard for our fans to make peace with the status of Pakistan cricket today. Unfortunately, the image that they have constructed based on nostalgia and expectations/dreams that do not add up to reality.

Today, Pakistan is not a top team and it is not viewed as a top team by the likes of India and England.

The top sides view Pakistan as a team that can be dangerous on a given day if you underperform, but if you bring your A game they do not have the talent or the skill to compete.

That is why India or England would back themselves against Pakistan on any given day compared to playing against each other, because those two sides are fully capable of losing to each other even if they bring their A game.

Thus, to claim that India deliberately underperformed to eliminate Pakistan is implying that India were scared of playing Pakistan, which couldn’t be further from the truth. No top team is scared of facing a mediocre team that would beat them only once in a blue moon.

Our fans in denial do not want to focus on the fact that by beating England, India would have ensured that England crash out of the World Cup which would have been a far more favorable situation compared to crashing Pakistan out of the World Cup.

It wasn’t a case of dumping Pakistan out and nothing; it was a choice between dumping Pakistan or England out - why on earth would any team choose to keep England in the tournament in this scenario?

Unfortunately, logic and common sense have no place when you are utterly deluded and let your emotions get the better off you.

If the only outcome of losing that match to England would have been the elimination of Pakistan, this narrative would have had some credibility. Unfortunately, now, it does not have a shred of credibility.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Did Stokes say that Dhoni intentionally played slow to oust Pakistan from the world cup ?

Don't be that desperate now. There's a world of difference between saying "his intent/lack of it was surprising" and downright accusing him of losing intentionally to keep a certain team out like Pakistanis are/have been doing since that game. He has no reason to come out and defend himself from baseless accusations from some attention seeking Pak ex-cricketer.

“Lack of intent was surprising” = “there should have been intent but there wasn’t” = “there was a lack of intent” = “MS Dhoni lacked intent”

Stokes is very explicitly saying what he wants to say while not being controversial

 

[Mamoon]

If Dhoni was willing to eliminate Pakistan and keep a vastly, vastly superior team and pre-tournament favorites and number 1 ranked team in the tournament, then he must hate Pakistan more than anyone.

His hate is so vicious that he was willing to sabotage his own team’s World Cup campaign and the last in his career just to see Pakistan go home.

That is the only possible explanation for those who are adamant that Dhoni deliberately lost to England.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Also, note that Stokes didn’t say “their lack of ability was surprising”. Stokes said their “lack of intent was surprising”. There is a key difference.

 

[MenInG]

“Lack of intent was surprising” = “there should have been intent but there wasn’t” = “there was a lack of intent” = “MS Dhoni lacked intent”

Stokes is very explicitly saying what he wants to say while not being controversial

This is the bit I dont understand - how else can one say this? Stokes cannot accuse MSD or the Indian side directly due to legal reasons but he is saying enough.

Its not just MSD as I said - one person cannot do this alone. His batting partners would have also done something but they didnt.

 

[Bewal Express]

If Dhoni was willing to eliminate Pakistan and keep a vastly, vastly superior team and pre-tournament favorites and number 1 ranked team in the tournament, then he must hate Pakistan more than anyone.

His hate is so vicious that he was willing to sabotage his own team’s World Cup campaign and the last in his career just to see Pakistan go home.

That is the only possible explanation for those who are adamant that Dhoni deliberately lost to England.

And you think that is not possible? Dhoni was so confident that Ind would win, keeping Eng in( a side he believed that they could beat at any time) and sending PK was a win win. The fact that it went pear shaped didn't mean he didn't see it that way.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

If Dhoni was willing to eliminate Pakistan and keep a vastly, vastly superior team and pre-tournament favorites and number 1 ranked team in the tournament, then he must hate Pakistan more than anyone.

His hate is so vicious that he was willing to sabotage his own team’s World Cup campaign and the last in his career just to see Pakistan go home.

That is the only possible explanation for those who are adamant that Dhoni deliberately lost to England.

Not that I subscribe to it, but one idea that crossed my mind was Dhoni’s solidarity with the army as well as how soon this incident was after Pulwama. The entire Indian team wore army hats out onto the field for a cricket game previously. Wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility for Dhoni to have either of his own accord chosen to prevent Pakistan from a reputation boost, or received a call from higher up (which is not unheard of with the BJP) to do this.

India didn’t have much to lose, they were in the semis in either case. And their match up was most likely going to be New Zealand either ways.

Depending on how you, or your government thinks, it might be more important to take that 5% risk of not winning the world cup and sabotaging Pakistan.

That being said, I really like MS Dhoni as a player and don’t mean to peddle hate or conspiracy theories. But it’s not outside the realm of possibility.

Regarding Dhoni’s lack of intent, the most suspicious thing is that he could have chosen to start hitting out and keep the run rate in check. As a very well seasoned captain, he knows better than anyone what the calculations are like on pacing an innings. It would have been to India’s benefit if he steadied the ship for another over or two and then began hitting out, and if he lost his wicket in the process then there are still a few wickets in hand to smash the ball a bit.

Another explanation is that there was no big conspiracy theory that all players were in on. India went in with the intent of winning the match, everything went haywire, came down to Dhoni, and he made a decision in the moment that it’s not that important to win anyways since they would be eliminating Pakistan in the process which is a good thing. To that end, let’s try to maximize the situation and I’ll keep the run rate in check so this doesn’t harm India’s final qualification and standings.

 

[NishanKonar]

This is classic example of a huge mountain being created of a mole hill

Anybody who has followed Dhoni over past few years know he is over the hill. No longer the explosive finisher of 10 years back. Onecreason most Indian fans wanted him to retire even before the WC

Did anybody of these ex cricketers ever accuse Misbah for deliberately playing slow & losing 2011 Mohali ODI

It was just a poor knock by a player well past his prime

 

[Thunderbolt14]

This is the bit I dont understand - how else can one say this? Stokes cannot accuse MSD or the Indian side directly due to legal reasons but he is saying enough.

Its not just MSD as I said - one person cannot do this alone. His batting partners would have also done something but they didnt.

Exactly [MENTION=93712]MenInG[/MENTION] Whether or not anyone agrees on whether it was an intentional loss by India, Stokes is very very clear that he believes it was. He’s saying Dhoni lacked intent to win, in other words, Dhoni didn’t want to win.

He can’t say it any clearer without jeopardizing his IPL contract and running into other legal issues (and that’s why he’s denying it over Twitter and claiming his words are being twisted). But no words are being twisted, it’s very clear what intent means.

 

[Mesozoic]

“Lack of intent was surprising” = “there should have been intent but there wasn’t” = “there was a lack of intent” = “MS Dhoni lacked intent”

Stokes is very explicitly saying what he wants to say while not being controversial

And then stokes said this.....


“There is a theory in our camp that Dhoni’s way of playing has always been the same. Even if India can’t win the game, he takes it right to the end to try to make sure that India’s run rate stays relatively healthy,” Stokes wrote.

“His big thing has always been to give himself a chance of winning by being at the crease for the final over, but he generally likes to stick around to get as close to a target as possible even in a losing cause.”

I'm not surprised at all at why this part is being ignored over here.

 

[Mamoon]

And you think that is not possible? Dhoni was so confident that Ind would win, keeping Eng in( a side he believed that they could beat at any time) and sending PK was a win win. The fact that it went pear shaped didn't mean he didn't see it that way.

Dhoni has played enough cricket and captain enough games of cricket to understand that England, the number 1 team in the world, is fully capable of beating India at home and certainly far more likely of beating them compared to Pakistan.

Even in that match he saw England make mincemeat of Indian bowling like no team in the tournament could. The Indian bowlers had an aura until that point and only conceded 250+ in one match.

However, England treated them like school kids and could have scored 400 if it weren’t for a couple of lucky wickets in the middle overs.

If Dhoni thought India would walkover England in the semifinal or final after witnessing that massacre and the fact that England beat them at home 2-1 the year before, then he was clearly deluded and deserved to lose the semifinal to New Zealand.

The problem is that our fans are thinking from a Pakistani perspective and are letting the rivalry between Pakistan and India cloud their assessment.

Purely from a cricketing perspective, it makes absolutely zero sense to keep England in the tournament at the expense of Pakistan.

Eliminating England in that match would have drastically increased India’s chances of winning the World Cup, especially when it looked like India would be playing England in the semifinal in Birmingham (England’s fortress).

Dhoni is one of the most calculated and tactical cricketers ever who played ODI cricket like a game of chess. It is very, very hard to believe that he did not realize that eliminating England and/or facing Pakistan in the semifinal instead of England would greatly boost India’s chances of winning the World Cup.

Well if it is indeed true that Dhoni tried to lose, then the only possibly explanation is that he hates Pakistan more than winning the World Cup, especially his last World Cup.

 

[Mamoon]

Not that I subscribe to it, but one idea that crossed my mind was Dhoni’s solidarity with the army as well as how soon this incident was after Pulwama. The entire Indian team wore army hats out onto the field for a cricket game previously. Wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility for Dhoni to have either of his own accord chosen to prevent Pakistan from a reputation boost, or received a call from higher up (which is not unheard of with the BJP) to do this.

India didn’t have much to lose, they were in the semis in either case. And their match up was most likely going to be New Zealand either ways.

Depending on how you, or your government thinks, it might be more important to take that 5% risk of not winning the world cup and sabotaging Pakistan.

That being said, I really like MS Dhoni as a player and don’t mean to peddle hate or conspiracy theories. But it’s not outside the realm of possibility.

Regarding Dhoni’s lack of intent, the most suspicious thing is that he could have chosen to start hitting out and keep the run rate in check. As a very well seasoned captain, he knows better than anyone what the calculations are like on pacing an innings. It would have been to India’s benefit if he steadied the ship for another over or two and then began hitting out, and if he lost his wicket in the process then there are still a few wickets in hand to smash the ball a bit.

Another explanation is that there was no big conspiracy theory that all players were in on. India went in with the intent of winning the match, everything went haywire, came down to Dhoni, and he made a decision in the moment that it’s not that important to win anyways since they would be eliminating Pakistan in the process which is a good thing. To that end, let’s try to maximize the situation and I’ll keep the run rate in check so this doesn’t harm India’s final qualification and standings.

Actually, until the final match of the group stage (Aus vs SA), India were supposed to play England in the semifinal in Birmingham.

After losing to England, India had two easy matches against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and England had one match against New Zealand for whom they were obviously heavy favorites.

That is why there was a lot of talk of England and playing in the semifinal if England manage to stay in the tournament by beating India.

Things took an unexpected turn with South Africa’s upset win over Australia in the final group match which put India in the first place and set them up for a semifinal with New Zealand.

So India clearly had a lot to lose. England at Edgbaston was the toughest possibly match-up and Australia learned that the hard way in the semifinal.

As I said, purely from a cricketing perspective, it makes zero sense for Dhoni to keep England in the tournament knowing fully well that they pose a far bigger threat than Pakistan.

Dhoni is one of the most cool-minded and calculated cricketers ever. He might be pro army but it is so hard to believe that he would hate Pakistan so much and get so emotional that he would be willing to sabotage his team’s chances and his last World Cup just to ensure that Pakistan go home.

Besides, if Dhoni really wanted to hurt Pakistan, wouldn’t beating Pakistan in the semifinal and twice in one World Cup a better response to Pulwama?

You eliminate England, you beat Pakistan in the semifinal and then you win the World Cup. Could there be a better form of revenge?

As far as his approach is concerned, I agree that it was ‘strange’, but he has played so Kant strange innings in the last few years that it is hard to keep track now. The way he played against England wasn’t the exception to the norm.

In fact, it is pretty much the norm for post 2015 Dhoni, and that is why Indian fans want him out. His approach to the game post his decline has been baffling.

To say that he might have received a call from BJP is something that I don’t know how to respond to me. I mean if we resort to such creative possibilities then we can come up with anything.

If we decide to go to any lengths to prove our point without any proof then there is no limit to creativity.

 

[MMHS]

Don’t these former PAK players do a basic homework on what they are spouting in media for their image, reputation & credibility? I believe it hardly costs them (rather say earns them other way), therefore most of them don’t bother.

Poms were 160/0 after 22 overs FGS - they made the biggest choke of all to reach 337 from there, had to bank on a master class finish by Stokes; business usual they should have reached at least 400 that day.

I have shared my explanations for that game in another thread, won’t reiterate here - I might not be correct, but these assumptions & theories are hilarious to be honest. Also, I am not sure in this format how a team can deliberately loose such a high profile fixture, when there is an advantage of finishing higher on the table. India eventually did top the table (& lost to 4th team in SF) because Aussies made a mess of SAF scraps, otherwise losing that game would have ended them facing Poms again in SF. Common sense tells (& I am sure Indian tank has enough of that) - they should have tried their best to eliminate this English side at home before KO stages, rather than PAK.......

But, most importantly IND itself wasn’t certain to qualify at that point - relatively easier fixtures, but they had two games still left, while despite deliberately losing that game by India (for the sake of argument) PAK was still in the tournament (albeit very slim chance, but PAK itself is responsible for that - in my WC preview, I categorically wrote that PCT should be careful about NRR in this format, they are the dumbest one in such maths) .... or other way, Poms could have been out still at PAK’s gain had they lost to Kiwis.

I think, these players are just trying to make a little airtime space for them, which wasn’t required - instead, they had enough of their own stories from their illustrious career to share, but may be this is what sells better in PAK cricket media these days, I don’t know.

 

[Saj]

And then stokes said this.....


“There is a theory in our camp that Dhoni’s way of playing has always been the same. Even if India can’t win the game, he takes it right to the end to try to make sure that India’s run rate stays relatively healthy,” Stokes wrote.

“His big thing has always been to give himself a chance of winning by being at the crease for the final over, but he generally likes to stick around to get as close to a target as possible even in a losing cause.”

I'm not surprised at all at why this part is being ignored over here.

I must have missed the part where Dhoni was trying to keep India's nrr healthy.

 

[Saj]

Regarding the maths:

MS Dhoni came in at 226/4, India needed 112 off 65 balls at 10.34 runs per over. He scored 42 not out off 31 balls.


The MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav partnership:

31 balls
39 runs
7 dots
20 singles
3 fours
1 six

 

[Saj]

Keeping the nrr up:

Boos from the crowd at Edgbaston as MS Dhoni turns down a single in the final over of the innings with India needing 38 off 4 balls.

 

[ahmadharis1]

If Dhoni was willing to eliminate Pakistan and keep a vastly, vastly superior team and pre-tournament favorites and number 1 ranked team in the tournament, then he must hate Pakistan more than anyone.

His hate is so vicious that he was willing to sabotage his own team’s World Cup campaign and the last in his career just to see Pakistan go home.

That is the only possible explanation for those who are adamant that Dhoni deliberately lost to England.

This x100000

Are people really believing this crap? That India, in the midst of a world cup campaign as contenders, would throw away a win just to have their rivals eliminated (and lets be honest its not much of a rivalry anymore).

Pakistan's world cup elimination was our own fault, quit blaming other teams.

 

[ravisurya]

Factually wrong, Eng were 160/0 after 22 overs, India did well to restrict them to 337 when it looked like they would get 400-450.

Not surprising how the known conspiracy theorists are ignoring this.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Can't blame Dhoni alone. If India lost it deliberately then whole team was involved in it. Dhoni and big hitter Hardik Sobers Pandya's strike rate were quite similar. Kohli's strike rate was poor than Dhoni's.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

Not sure why Ben stokes has opened up a can of worms here
Had Pakistan beat new zealand and Afghanistan comfortably they wouldn't have needed help with their net run rate

 

[Markhor]

Don't care. Yes Dhoni and co showed a lack of intent and looked to simply spare their NRR, but can our ex-players shut up about this match already. We never should've been in the position where we needed to rely on India to stay in a World Cup.

 

[andy0204]

Don't care. Yes Dhoni and co showed a lack of intent and looked to simply spare their NRR, but can our ex-players shut up about this match already. We never should've been in the position where we needed to rely on India to stay in a World Cup.

Exactly, Pakistan should rectify their own mistakes they lost their first match against Windies and made them look like 80's one.

 

[Titan24]

People talking about Pakistan cricket team and Pakistani ex players are missing the point.

Nasir Hussain, Ben Stokes, Mike Atherton, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Andre Russel etc. As per many either dont know their cricket even after playing for decades or they have some hidden anti India agenda we dont know about.

Many are talking about eliminating Pakistan etc. I dont think so that should be the point of focus rather question is what exactly happened at the end.

Crowd booing, commentators of the match raising questions, opposition players raising questions (Then maybe convincing their minds, yeah Dhoni plays this ways and we won fair and square) and even teams which werent involved in the match raising eye brows and questions. Is it normal in most of the matches? I dont think so.

Again point isnt about Pakistan at all but questions are regarding integrity of the sport we all love.

 

[BreadPakoda]

There should be MNREGA scheme for Pakistani ex-cricketers. Worst of the lot.

 

[BreadPakoda]

Similar situation and Dhoni played a similar innings that too in a knock out and that too 4 years before this one.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...-2nd-semi-final-icc-cricket-world-cup-2014-15

We all know Dhoni doesn't have it in him any more. But yeah, yahoodi kanspiracy sounds better.

 

[Bewal Express]

Don't care. Yes Dhoni and co showed a lack of intent and looked to simply spare their NRR, but can our ex-players shut up about this match already. We never should've been in the position where we needed to rely on India to stay in a World Cup.

The result suited both teams but I agree that it was the manner of the defeat against the Windies that cost us so dearly.

 

[CanadianG00se]

There is a world of difference between not going for a win to safeguard NRR and intentionally throwing game away.

Lastly, why does Pakistan has to rely on someone else for their qualification?

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">India's innings split:<br><br>1-10 ---- 28/1<br>11-20 ---- 55/0<br>21-30 ---- 69/1<br>31-40 ---- 82/2<br>41-50 ---- 72/1<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ENGvIND?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ENGvIND</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CWC19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CWC19</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1145389843268218880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[andy0204]

England would have "chokers" tag if they lost that match.

 

[Mamoon]

This x100000

Are people really believing this crap? That India, in the midst of a world cup campaign as contenders, would throw away a win just to have their rivals eliminated (and lets be honest its not much of a rivalry anymore).

Pakistan's world cup elimination was our own fault, quit blaming other teams.

I am not sure they do, but it is their way of coping with the disappointment. A lot of our fans have convinced themselves that if India had not cheated Pakistan out of the World Cup, Pakistan would have repeated the CT heroics by winning the semifinal and final.

The bottom-line is that India and Dhoni did not deliberately lose to England. They were outclassed by the best ODI team in the world who were up for it under pressure, and Dhoni played a typical post 2015 Dhoni innings.

Pakistan were eliminated because they lost 3 out of the first 4 matches and allowed West Indies to completely nuke their NRR in their opening game.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Whatever Stokes said is his opinion, there may be an element of truth in it, but we should not hold India responsible for our ouster from WC.
We should hold ourselves accountable for losing a game so heavily against WI. We needed to be good enough to qualify on our own rather than depending on if A beats B and C loses to D we will get a pass.
Plus we also showed a lot of lack of intent of beating Australia in CT09 esp in batting front, even though it gave majority of our fans a good feel, but such tactics only damage the integrity of cricket and nothing else.

 

[MenInG]

Look tournaments are like this - one man's mistake is another one's gain - a level playing field is whats needed.

 

[Buffet]

"When you get top 2-3 wickets early you as captain look to finish off the game early and not stretch it too far; You don't allow them to build a partnership - 337 should not have been allowed to be scored"


Eng was 160/0

Anyone supporting such lies shouldn't be taken seriously.

Even if some Pakistani ex-players did not watch the match, it's not too much effort to check scorecard before accusing teams/captains to throw a match.

May be Eng lost quick 2-3 wickets in some parallel universe.

 

[Rana]

Was Tendulkar genuinely scared of facing Shoaib in 2006? Did Dhoni purposely throw the match against England?

Not sure Pakistanis would ever get the answers they want from Indian fans on these two questions

 

[Belawal2014]

Pakistan has no one to blame but itself for not making it to to SFs on their own.

 

[Rana]

Pakistan has no one to blame but itself for not making it to to SFs on their own.

Not really mate, England had to lose 1 of its 2 games against India and New Zealand for Pakistan to go through. Also the rained off game which I’m sure we would have walked over against Sri Lanka. A mixture of Bad luck for these parts, and to simply go missing on 3 occasions for brief periods against West Indies and Australia were the real reason.

We lost thoroughly against India tbf

 

[Rana]

Losing by 31 runs with 5 wickets in hand

Had Pakistan done this I’m sure the ICC anti-corruption unit would swiftly be on the case

 

[Savak]

Everyone knows what India that day against England and to be honest Karma and God was just by kicking them out immediately in the Semi Final. But what is done is done, no point bringing this up again, Pakistan Cricket team and the PCB will be well advised not to put themselves in the same position again.

 

[Haroon786]

Unfortunately, ** tends to sell well in the SC these days.

 

[ahmadharis1]

I am not sure they do, but it is their way of coping with the disappointment. A lot of our fans have convinced themselves that if India had not cheated Pakistan out of the World Cup, Pakistan would have repeated the CT heroics by winning the semifinal and final.

The bottom-line is that India and Dhoni did not deliberately lose to England. They were outclassed by the best ODI team in the world who were up for it under pressure, and Dhoni played a typical post 2015 Dhoni innings.

Pakistan were eliminated because they lost 3 out of the first 4 matches and allowed West Indies to completely nuke their NRR in their opening game.

Yup. If anything, India would have WANTED Pakistan to qualify for the semis; they'd be a much easier opponent than New Zealand

 

[Rana]

Yup. If anything, India would have WANTED Pakistan to qualify for the semis; they'd be a much easier opponent than New Zealand

That’s not how ICC tournament cricket works I’m afraid

 

[ManFan]

There is no doubt you are in desperate need of funds, Mr. Razzaq.

 

[ManFan]

I am not sure they do, but it is their way of coping with the disappointment. A lot of our fans have convinced themselves that if India had not cheated Pakistan out of the World Cup, Pakistan would have repeated the CT heroics by winning the semifinal and final.

The bottom-line is that India and Dhoni did not deliberately lose to England. They were outclassed by the best ODI team in the world who were up for it under pressure, and Dhoni played a typical post 2015 Dhoni innings.

Pakistan were eliminated because they lost 3 out of the first 4 matches and allowed West Indies to completely nuke their NRR in their opening game.

The “best ODI team in the world” that lost to SL and PAK.

Add to that, the flukiest WC victory of all time (“bat of God”) shows that ENG simply peaked with the right amount of luck. A bit like PAK did in 2017; they were not the best team in the tournament at all.

P.S: PAK did not deserve to qualify for the SF’s but their rained-out match against SL certainly added to their woes.

 

[Gullycricket]

I will try to add few more points which does give credence to the fact that the lack of intent may have been deliberate.
1. Dhoni is one of the fastest runners in the game along with Kohli. I have seen them run so desperately when they want to win the game. In that game they didn't even try.
2. A team which has so successfully chased totals above 300 suddenly goes into shell.
From a cricketing sense yes it would make no sense for india to lose. But what I feel is that it was not about cricket. A team which politicized cricket with army caps we can expect this thing. India was High on confidence and believed that in the next potential encounter in semis with Eng they would beat them. There was something fishy about that game. If someone doesn't believe just look at the semis against NZ where same Dhoni was running with his tail between legs

 

[Thunderbolt14]

The “best ODI team in the world” that lost to SL and PAK.

Add to that, the flukiest WC victory of all time (“bat of God”) shows that ENG simply peaked with the right amount of luck. A bit like PAK did in 2017; they were not the best team in the tournament at all.

P.S: PAK did not deserve to qualify for the SF’s but their rained-out match against SL certainly added to their woes.

Pakistan didn’t draw twice including the super over in 2017, they dismantled India for 150 after posting 338. Nor did they, like you said, benefit from both a “bat of god” and incorrect umpiring. Or get to the semis via a match against India where there was no intent by the finishers.

Comparing England’s luck in 2019 to Pakistan’s in 2017 is a bit unfair.

 

[Robert]

The “best ODI team in the world” that lost to SL and PAK.

Add to that, the flukiest WC victory of all time (“bat of God”) shows that ENG simply peaked with the right amount of luck. A bit like PAK did in 2017; they were not the best team in the tournament at all.

P.S: PAK did not deserve to qualify for the SF’s but their rained-out match against SL certainly added to their woes.

Yeah, they were, despite handing the opposition a wicket in the Final which suited NZ’s style better, and losing the toss.

England were beaten finalists in three of the first five World Cups having lost the toss each time. The toss is very important. England overcame that disadvantage in 2019.

England had the first and second most successful bowlers in the tournament and scored the most runs at the fastest rate.

Pakistan had the best bowler in the 1992 tournament, played really well in the second half after a bad start and deserved their win. They had their bit of luck when the match where England bowled them out for 70 was rained off. You need a bit of luck somewhere to win a tournament.

 

[gani999]

An Englishman writes some drivel and a whole bunch of subcontinentals go at each others' throats over it.

Aakhir kab sudhrenge hum

 

[Mamoon]

The “best ODI team in the world” that lost to SL and PAK.

Add to that, the flukiest WC victory of all time (“bat of God”) shows that ENG simply peaked with the right amount of luck. A bit like PAK did in 2017; they were not the best team in the tournament at all.

P.S: PAK did not deserve to qualify for the SF’s but their rained-out match against SL certainly added to their woes.

Best in the world does not mean that you are invincible. They way England have played in the last 4 years, their ranking and the series wins against all the top sides in the world is testament to the fact that they are the best ODI side currently.

Furthermore, they way they clawed back in the World Cup and produced top class performances against India, New Zealand and Australia (SF) under extreme pressure and all the nonsense calls of them being chokers was proof of their skill and mentality.

Having a mini stutter in the World Cup does not take away anything from them. They had a very bad collective game against Pakistan, struggled without Roy later on and the pitch for the Sri Lankan match was a disgrace.

But they proved their quality and why they are number 1 with the performances they put in at the back end of the World Cup.

People talk about Dhoni trying to help them win, but that doesn’t change the fact that England completely destroyed a bowling attack that were largely untouchable in the World Cup and only conceded 300+ once. England broke the aura of India’s attack.

England got lucky in the final but every side needs some luck to win a tournament. It is important to differentiate between luck and fluke.

England would have won the 2019 World Cup and beat New Zealand in the final more often than not, but Pakistan winning the 2017 Champions Trophy as the 8th ranked team was a miracle that they would not be able to repeat 99/100 times.

Beating India in the final was certainly a fluke because the same Pakistani players have been battered by India in 4 out of 5 matches that they have played.

As far as the Sri Lanka match is concerned, it didn’t add to our woes at all. There is no guarantee that we would have beaten Sri Lanka.

The same fans who talk about Pakistan’s unpredictability also want to convince you that they were guaranteed to beat Sri Lanka.

If Pakistan and Sri Lanka beat England and Afghanistan took Pakistan and India to the last over, there is a good chance that Sri Lanka could have beaten Pakistan.

Besides, we can only with the games that actually happened. Let’s not forget that India vs New Zealand was also washed out, and the result of that match could have impacted the qualifications as well.

 

[Mamoon]

That’s not how ICC tournament cricket works I’m afraid

They do. That is why Pakistan have won only two ODI tournaments since 1975. The chances of winning tournaments are very low when you are not a top team.

Champions Trophy type stories don’t repeat themselves often.

 

[Mamoon]

Losing by 31 runs with 5 wickets in hand

Had Pakistan done this I’m sure the ICC anti-corruption unit would swiftly be on the case

Do you feel the same about the England vs New Zealand group match where New Zealand showed zero intent throughout the innings, with Williamson and Taylor batting at a strike rate of 65 when they needed 306 to win?

We also needed New Zealand to win that match so that our losers could stay in the World Cup.

So why aren’t we crying about New Zealand and the lack of spirit that they showed? At least the Kohli and Rohit partnership put them game in balance at one stage, but New Zealand did not try to chase the total at any point of their innings.

That is why our fans and our ex-players do not have a shred of credibility. They don’t speak with logic and sense but only out of jealousy and spite for India.

 

[Rana]

Do you feel the same about the England vs New Zealand group match where New Zealand showed zero intent throughout the innings, with Williamson and Taylor batting at a strike rate of 65 when they needed 306 to win?

We also needed New Zealand to win that match so that our losers could stay in the World Cup.

So why aren’t we crying about New Zealand and the lack of spirit that they showed? At least the Kohli and Rohit partnership put them game in balance at one stage, but New Zealand did not try to chase the total at any point of their innings.

That is why our fans and our ex-players do not have a shred of credibility. They don’t speak with logic and sense but only out of jealousy and spite for India.

How is getting 186 all out in pursuit of 306 comparable to losing by 31 runs and still having 5 wickets in hand?

I find it hypocritical that you out of all people demand logic and sense, whereas in the past 5 years I have just seen you demonstrate zero when it comes to fairness in relation to Pakistani cricket or Pakistan itself. Let’s stay on cricket though

Tell me, how is it acceptable to lose by 31 runs with 5 wickets in hand and two batsmen not out? India had a chance to chance this score down even if Shami, Bumrah and Chahal has a go late down the order with some adventurous batting and a cameo being pulled off. Look at how they were all out in the Semi final against New Zealand in pursuit of chasing a much lesser total, if this is how Dhoni bats, do you see him remain not out with another batsmen and still 20 odd runs left on the board?

 

[Geil]

The obsession of Pak cricketers with Indian players and Indian cricket team never ends, I hope they realize how child like ranting they sound when they make statements like this but fail to beat India in WC

The best teams advanced into Semi-final of 2019 WC, Pakistan wasnt deserving to be in SF with the way they played against WI and Ind

I was glad that Ind threw Pak put of WC for reasons like bad captaincy by Sarfaraz and obviously Micky Arthur. Pak cricket needs a big change in the way they play and make plans before the match,now Misbah is the right man? not sure

One good thing is that none of current Pak 2019 WC player blame and accuse Indian player"s integrity for their exit in WC 209 otherwise that would look very embarrassing for Pak Cricket

 

[MenInG]

The obsession of Pak cricketers with Indian players and Indian cricket team never ends, I hope they realize how child like ranting they sound when they make statements like this but fail to beat India in WC

The best teams advanced into Semi-final of 2019 WC, Pakistan wasnt deserving to be in SF with the way they played against WI and Ind

I was glad that Ind threw Pak put of WC for reasons like bad captaincy by Sarfaraz and obviously Micky Arthur. Pak cricket needs a big change in the way they play and make plans before the match,now Misbah is the right man? not sure

One good thing is that none of current Pak 2019 WC player blame and accuse Indian player"s integrity for their exit in WC 209 otherwise that would look very embarrassing for Pak Cricket

Stokes wrote the book, yes?

 

[Geil]

Stokes wrote the book, yes?

but Stokes didnt say words which accuses Indian players integrity or something along that lines, I am all good when you say India lost deliberately as I think the same but doubting or accusing a player cricketing career in not right, that was the only point I am against to

 

[cricketjoshila]

Stokes wrote the book, yes?

The book told Mushtaq Ahmed about the West Indian player claims?

 

[Thunderbolt14]

but Stokes didnt say words which accuses Indian players integrity or something along that lines, I am all good when you say India lost deliberately as I think the same but doubting or accusing a player cricketing career in not right, that was the only point I am against to

He does though, he very clearly talks about Dhoni’s lack of intent. Obviously he can’t say it explicitly that “Dhoni does not have integrity” because Stokes would be crucified for saying it by Indian fans.

But when he talks about a lack of intent, he is very explicitly saying that the other team could have tried harder but they didn’t