Pakistan suffered a 23-run defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2022 final at Dubai International Cricket Stadium last Sunday (September 11).

However, the biggest talking point emerged after the match came as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja snapped at an Indian journalist, who had asked him to say something to "Pakistani fans who were sad after the loss."

A week later, Ramiz clarified his antics during a Q&A session on his YouTube channel. He argued that how did the Indian journalist know all Pakistanis were disappointed by the loss, claiming that it was a “provocative” statement.

“Me aapko batata hu. Unke jo questions the, jo line that woh bilkul theek nehi tha. Mera yeh puchne ka point yeh tha ki woh kehe rahe the ki pure janta baari naraz he. Toh maine kaha ki aapko kaise pata he ki pure Pakistani log iss team se naraz he. Kyunki aap 2000 mil dur baithe huye he na. Yeh bharkane wali baatein hoti he. Point yeh he ki agar aapka dil saaf he aur ek cricket bat kar raha he toh yeh cheeze samne nehi aani chaiye. But anyway, woh ek incident tha, woh hogaya. (The question that he asked was inappropriate. The point behind me telling him that was he said that all Pakistanis were disappointed with their cricket team. How did he know that? Because he was some 2000 miles away from Pakistan. It was completely a provocative statement.)," Ramiz said.

Coming to the Asia Cup 2022 final, Sri Lanka rode on Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s unbeaten 71 off 45 balls to post 170/6 on the board after being reduced to 58/5 at one stage.

In reply, Pakistan were bowled out for 147 in their allotted 20 overs. It was a listless batting display as most of them fell for a single-digit score. While Mohammad Rizwan struck 55 off 49 balls, his knock lacked intent and failed to keep the required run rate under check.

Pramod Madushan (4-34) and Hasaranga (3-27) starred with the ball for Sri Lanka, sharing seven wickets between them.