Manchester: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan before the start of the all-important clash against India in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup had advised captain Sarfaraz Ahmed to win the toss and bat first. Sarfaraz got the first part right (winning the toss) but chose to bowl instead.
Khan in a series of tweets, just before the start of the India-Pakistan clash, had decided to give advice to the young Pakistan team along with some pep talk, stressing on the need to keep mental strength.
"In Sarfaraz we are fortunate to have a bold captain & today he will have to be at his daring best," Imran Khan tweeted in praise of the national team captain.
Imran Khan advised that "all fears of losing should be banished from the mind as the mind can only process one thought at a time, and then went on to give three tips, including to win the toss and bat first, unless the pitch is damp.
The sun was out but Sarfaraz on winning the toss decided that Pakistan would be bowling first, perhaps with an eye on the weather forecast, which predicted rain in the second half of the day and could lead to a truncated match.
"We will bowl first. It has been raining in Old Trafford from the last three days so conditions are good for bowling. I think, it is a good option to play two spinners against India. We have quality spinners and we have backed them today. India Pakistan is a big match. We are not thinking about 6-0. We are just focusing on this match and we want to play our best game. We are not thinking about the result," Sarfaraz said after winning toss and opting to bowl.
Fans on social media could not keep calm and proceeded to troll the Pakistan PM for the captain not heeding his advise.Let's have a look at some of the tweets, shall we?
Imran Khan : Pakistan Should Bat first against India
Sarfaraz : Won the Toss and Elected to bowl first.
Imran Khan :#IndiaVsPakistan pic.twitter.com/Pp0sHUlhlM
— Amir Sheikh🇵🇰 (@Amirkehtahai) June 16, 2019
Imran Khan : Pakistan Should Bat first against India
Sarfaraz : Won the Toss and Elected to bowl first.
Imran Khan :#IndiaVsPakistan pic.twitter.com/5b0332V8xX
— M Asfand Yar (@malikasfand_) June 16, 2019
Sarfaraz just saved Imran Khan by winning toss and electing field, otherwise blame of Pakistan's defeat would have gone to Imran and he might not have able to complete his 5 years term as PM 😂😂😂 #IndiaVsPakistan #IndvsPak https://t.co/UEuC986p5h — Sarcastic Patriotic Indians (@SARCASTIC_PI) June 16, 2019
Sarfaraz to Imran- कृप्या ज्ञान ना दें! :p #TOSS #IndiaVsPakistan https://t.co/E8VIparDsy — kiran chopra (@kiri_chopra) June 16, 2019
#IndiaVsPakistan #INDvsPAK #INDvPAK Pakistan won the toss and decided to bowl first. Imran Khan : pic.twitter.com/U2NR5XKWXw — Name cannot be blank (@LadkaSarcastic) June 16, 2019