Watch: Shadab's epic 'kudrat ka nizam' reply to Pakistan's rtd. army general's 'Zimbabwe ka match inhone harwaya' remark
Shadab Khan had a hilarious reply to Pakistan's retired army general when the latter suggested that the side lost its T20 World Cup group game against Zimbabwe due to Shadab's irresponsible batting.
Pakistan faced a five-wicket defeat in the final of the T20 World Cup against England last month. The side, that had reached the final in a rather dramatic fashion, survived twin losses to India and Zimbabwe in the group stage and had an extraordinary result going in their favour, as Netherlands beat South Africa to ensure Pakistan's easy qualification to the semis. In the final, however, Pakistan endured an injury setback to Shaheen Afridi who faced a knee injury and couldn't complete his four-over quota in the run-chase.
The Babar Azam-led side had begun its campaign with a loss to India, and then faced a stunning 1-run defeat to Zimbabwe in the next. Despite a lowly 130-run target, Pakistan fell a run short as the side faced a batting order collapse. The side was reeling at 36/3 in the eighth over when Shan Masood was joined by Shadab Khan; the duo had forged a 52-run stand for the fourth wicket and it seemed the match was in the bag for Pakistan.
However, Shadab attempted an explosive hit right after smashing a six against Sikander Raza, and gave his wicket away, triggering a batting collapse. The side was eventually restricted to 129/8 in 20 overs with Shaheen Afridi being run out on the final ball of the match.
Over a month after the match, the Pakistan players gathered for an event organized by the PCB, and talked about their varied experiences with the national team. Pakistan's retired army general Qamar Javed Bajwa also attended the event and had a tongue-in-cheek comment for Shadab Khan in reference to the match against Zimbabwe.
“T20 ke lihaaz se Shadab is very good, he's a complete all-rounder. Lekin Zimbabwe ka match bhi inhone harwaaya hai. Chhakka maarne ke baad agle ball pe hit maara (In T20s, Shadab is very good. But he lost us the match against Zimbabwe as well! He had hit a six and then he went for another hit),” Bajwa said, prompting laughter from the audience.
Shadab, however, referred to Pakistan coach Saqlain Mushtaq's ‘Kudrat ka Nizaam’ remark as he replied to Bajwa. “Kudrat ka nizaam hai, main out hua toh final me pohoche (It was the will of nature! I was out, that's why we reached the final!),” Shadab said hilariously.
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Pakistan are currently taking part in a three-match Test series against England and will return to action for the second game on Friday. The side is trailing the series 0-1.