Pakistan will play Canada in a must-win game on June 11.
Pakistan have the last two of their Group A games, to USA and India, and are slated to face off against Canada and Ireland in pursuit of their slim qualification chances.
USA defeated Pakistan in a Super over in Texas, while India handed Babar Azam and co. by 6 runs while defending 119 runs in New York.
During the press conference ahead of the Canada match, a journalist asked Mehmood for a justification for the players’ whereabouts off the field despite the national team experiencing a horrendous campaign.
“One minute. Did you see the match day? Brother, cricket is played on the ground. There is life beyond cricket. You were there. I saw you there too,” Mehmood addressed the reporter.
Mehmood acknowledged the sting of defeat but noted that there is more to life outside the cricket pitch. And it was natural for athletes to want to get their minds off the field.
“The thing is, we are a very emotional nation. I mean, it’s not possible that if you lose a match, your life will be over. If you lose a match and then you come to the room and bang the walls of the room, then you need a little time to relax your mind.
Now, obviously, our players are not like that. I’ve been with English teams, too. If they go to a place like that, you can only go to eat, that’s our entertainment,” he defended the Pakistan team.
He asserted that such question about players heading out to eat wouldn’t have arisen had they not been going through a steak of losses.
“Now tell me, who’s not following a diet plan? All the teams in the world do it. There’s no such thing. When we lose, we feel that we are not following this, we are not following that. If we had won, you wouldn’t be asking me this question,” Azhar said.
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