Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram was “incredibly sad” after very few supporters turned up for the first T20I match played between Pakistan and West Indies in Karachi on December 13. Akram also demanded an answer from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the poor attendance.
Pakistan hosted an international series after New Zealand had cancelled their tour earlier this year just hours before the commencement of the tour due to security issues. England team were next to abandon their series in Pakistan as well but due to different reasons, so it was expected that Pakistan cricket fans would turn up in large numbers for the West Indies series but sadly that was not the case in reality.
Pakistan had finished semi-finalists in the recently concluded T20 World Cup and despite producing a stellar show in the World Cup very few turned out for the first T20I fixture against West Indies and this compelled Akram question the PCB for organising the matches poorly.
"Incredibly sad to see an empty stadium in Karachi for the #PAKvWIt20 especially after the performance of Pakistan Team in the last month. I'm pretty sure I know why but I want to hear from you! Tell me, where is the crowd and why??," Akram tweeted.
But the 55-year old former pacer did not stop there as he went on to post another video on Twitter on the matter. The video showed one of the fans complaining about the substandard handling of the matches. Former Pakistan skipper shared the video on Twitter writing, “This is VERY concerning. This is not a backyard game this is an International Series."
Pakistan team are scheduled to face West Indies in a three-match T20I series and after that they will be involved in a three-match ODI series as well. The ODI series is slated to start on December 18.
In the first T20I played in Karachi, Pakistan managed to secure a convincing victory by 63 runs. For Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan and Haider Ali emerged as the stars with the bat, scoring half-centuries. With the ball, it was young Mohammad Wasim who scalped four wickets conceding 40 runs.
In the second T20I, the hosts secured a nine-run victory, in Karachi. Batting first, Pakistan managed to score a total of 172 for 8. Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was the best bowler after picking up three crucial wickets.
