T20 World Cup: Ahead of Pak-India clash, Green Shirts arrive in New York

Ahead of the Pakistan-India T20 World Cup fixture on June 9, the Green Shirts on Friday arrived in New York, state broadcaster PTV News reported.

In a post on X, PTV News said the Consulate General of Pakistan in New York announced the team’s arrival.

“The team, led by captain Babar Azam, was warmly received by Consul General Aamer Ahmad Atozai,” it stated, adding that Atozai extended his best wishes for their performance in the T20 World Cup.

PTV News quoted the Consul General statement: “We urge the Pakistani diaspora and cricket enthusiasts in New York and across the United States to come out in large numbers to support our team.”

“Your encouragement and presence will undoubtedly boost the morale of our players and inspire them to achieve great success,” it said, wishing the team a “successful and memorable tournament”.

On Thursday, in their first match of the tournament, the Green Shirts were meted a stunning blow by hosts United States, shocking cricket experts and Pakistani fans alike.

Pakistan will now face arch-rivals India on June 9 at 7:30pm (PKT) at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, where security will be boosted after reports of threats especially related to the match.

They will then play against Canada on June 11 at 7:30pm (PKT) on the same ground. The tournament is being co-hosted by the US and West Indies.

Pakistan not up to the mark in US match: Babar

This was not the first time that Pakistan suffered a defeat to lower-ranked opposition in major tournaments, with the 2009 champions losing to Zimbabwe in the 2022 T20 World Cup and Afghanistan at last year’s 50-overs World Cup.

“Whenever you come into any tournament, you always do the best preparation,” Babar told reporters after the defeat. “But you can say it’s a kind of mindset, when you come up against a team like this, you relax a little. You take things a little lightly.

“If you don’t execute your plan against any team, then whatever team it is, they will beat you. I believe that we are not up to the mark in executing. We are doing well in preparation, but in the match, we are not executing our plans as a team.”

Babar also lamented his side’s failure to take wickets in the first half of the US innings, with an early 68-run partnership between Mohank Patel and Andries Gous proving vital in the host nation’s chase.

“We are not playing good in all three departments,” Babar said. “We are better than that in the bowling, we aren’t taking wickets in the first six overs. In the middle overs, if your spinner is not taking wickets then pressure is on us.

“But I think the way they finished the game in the super overs, credit to the US team.”