Mushtaq Ahmed Claims West Indies Players Told Him 'India Don't Want Pakistan to Qualify for 2019 World Cup Semis' after England Loss

Former Pakistan spinner Mushtaq Ahmed claims members of the West Indies cricket team told him that India didn't want Pakistan to qualify for the 2019 World Cup semi-finals after the Men in Blue lost their group encounter to hosts England.

Mushtaq, who was working with the West Indies as their spin bowling coach, claims that skipper Jason Holder, veteran opener Chris Gayle and all-rounder Andre Russell voiced their opinions on the same to him just after the match.

“I was working with the West Indies squad at last year’s World Cup. After India’s loss to England, Jason Holder, Chris Gayle and Andre Russell said to me 'Mushy, India didn’t want to see Pakistan qualify for the semi-finals,'” Mushtaq told Pakistani news channel ARY Sports.

The claim will no doubt bring more attention to the group stage encounter between Virat Kohli's men and eventual World Cup winners England, which had been in the news recently due to some comments from Ben Stokes' new book 'On Fire'.

"Arguably, the way MS Dhoni played when he came in with 112 runs needed from 11 overs was even stranger. He appeared more intent on singles than sixes. Even with a dozen balls remaining, India could still have won.

"...there was little or no intent from him (Dhoni) or his partner Kedar Jadhav. To me, while victory is still possible you always go for broke," Stokes wrote in his soon-to-be-published book.

Former Pakistan bowler Sikander Bahkt then tweeted an old video wherein he is quoted saying that India threw the match to ensure Pakistan don't qualify, further stating that Stokes' book has only vindicated his claim.

But these comments did not gone down well with Stokes. In a retaliatory tweet, Stokes said, "You won’t find it cause I have never said it... it’s called “twisting of words” or “click bait"."

The match in question took place at Edgbaston, Birmingham. India were comprehensively beaten by 31 runs after failing to chase England's massive score of 337 for 7.