Afghanistan's players greet their fans at the end of 2023 World Cup match vs Pakistan on October 23.© AFP
India all-rounder Ajay Jadeja, who served as Afghanistan mentor during ODI World Cup 2023, revealed that the intesity among players is 10 times higher during Afghanistan-Pakistan matches when compared to that of India-Pakistan. Recalling Afghanistan's eight-wicket win over Pakistan in Cricket World Cup 2023, the former India player said that the winning team players were behaving like "bin piye sharaabi". Chasing a target of 283 runs in the game, Afghanistan reached home in 49 overs to register their first-ever ODI win over Pakistan.
"Uss din mene bin piye sharaabi dekhe (That day I saw players getting high without consuming alcohol)," said Ajay Jadeja on Caught Behind.
Ajay Jadeja was appointed as the mentor of Afghanistan ahead of Cricket World Cup 2023 and it was during his reign that Afghanistan registered the historic victory.
Ibrahim Zadran was named the Player of the Match for scoring 87 runs off 113 balls.
"Whichever friend asked me how did I feel. I told them to multiply the intensity during India vs Pakistan match by 10. Everyone gets surprised after listening this," said Jadeja.
Backing Jadeja's opinion, former Pakistan player Rashid Latif said, "When I was a coach of Afghanistan in Asian Games in Hangzhou and the team won against Pakistan, uske baad mene bhi bin piye sharaabi dekhe the. (I also saw players getting high without consuming alcohol after that)."
In the semi-finals of Men's Cricket Competition at the Asian Games in 2023, Afghanistan handed a 4-wicket defeat to Pakistan.
Chasing a 116-run target in the T20I game, Afghanistan reached home with 13 balls to spare.
In the ongoing T20 World Cup, Afghanistan have been put in Group C alongside West Indies, Uganda, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.
Meanwhile, Pakistan are in Group A with India, Ireland, Canada and United States. The Babar Azam-led side is on the brink of elimination.
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