Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur’s comment on the atmosphere at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad during the India-Pakistan World Cup clash continues to draw attention even after a week.
After Pakistan’s seven-wicket thrashing in Ahmedabad, Arthur complained about the partisan crowd and no Pakistani music being played at the venue. He went on to say that it felt like a bilateral series game organized by BCCI rather than an ICC event.
"It didn't seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event. I didn't hear Dil Dil Pakistan coming through the microphones too often tonight,” Arthur said in the post-match presser last Saturday (October 14).
A lot has been said about Mickey Arthur’s statement since then. Recently, former England skipper Michael Vaughan gave a sarcastic reference to Arthur’s comment while praising Rohit Sharma’s captaincy in the ongoing World Cup.
Speaking in a podcast alongside Australian legend Adam Gilchrist, Vaughan said Rohit has been spot on with his batting and captaincy in the showpiece event but his best decision to date would be to instruct the DJ in Ahmedabad not to pay the ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ song.
“Gilly, you are absolutely spot on about Rohit. His tactical awareness out in the middle, just managing the players, as you mentioned [Mohammed] Siraj, giving him an extra over just to give him a boost. But his best move without doubt, the move that won the game and the Pakistan coach alluded to it afterwards, is Rohit obviously said to the DJ, just do not play ‘Dil, Dil, Pakistan’. If you play, Pakistan will win. Do not play that song. Make sure that they don’t hear that inspirational song. That was clever from Rohit. Most captains don’t think about things like that - DJs, music. Rohit is ahead of his time,” Vaughan said in a hilarious manner.
Talking about Team India, the hosts have won all four games convincingly so far against Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The Men in Blue are slated to face table-toppers New Zealand in their next match in Dharamsala on Sunday (October 22).
