Cricket is religion in Pakistan, Paul Collingwood:
Former England skipper Paul Collingwood said thinks that
there is no dearth in passion among cricket lovers in Pakistan. Paul
Collingwood who was not selected in first T20 match against Pakistan is
currently playing the second T20 match.
Paul Collingwood is proud to be part of World XI that provide first step in returning international cricket in Pakistan.
Paul Collingwood said in post match press conference that
he, "felt like a kid at Christmas. I'm 41 years old and to actually have
the feeling of being in a Twenty20 International again is something I am very
excited about,"
Collingwood added, "The last time I came to Pakistan, I
understood that cricket is a religion here. The passion and the atmosphere that
you get in the ground is something special. I experienced that in Karachi in
2005 and certainly tonight was a great start to, hopefully, a series that we
can still win. So I am very much looking forward to playing in the game."
He said that he was feeling nervous playing cricket after a
long break, "I am very proud, I can tell you right now. I came out of the
net session yesterday and it felt like I was playing international cricket
again. That, to me, when I retired back in 2011 and to have that same feeling
again, that anxiety and that intensity when you play for your country and they
all come back again, so I am very excited about playing."
Paul Collingwood loved the atmosphere at Lahore during
first T20 match & he said he is a part of team that has come here to return
international in this country, he added, "small stepping stone for future
cricket in Pakistan."
"I think the intensity was there. Obviously, the crowd
wasn't 100% capacity but the noise they make, you can just sense in the ground
that they were really enjoying Pakistan playing the game in their own country
and you can sense something special. The reception that was afforded to the
World XI was at the ground and on social media by the cricket-loving nation has
been excellent. Hopefully this is a small stepping stone for future cricket in
Pakistan."
The World XI lost the first match of Independence Cup by 20
runs. Collingwood wants to quick turnaround from World XI in the second T20
match against Pakistan.
"We will look for a quick turnaround. Obviously, 24
hours between games. We will learn from tonight's game, the wicket and
conditions and what kind of bowling especially works on this pitch so we will
bring that tomorrow."
"You know, when a World XI comes together, it takes
some time to know each other and certainly Faf understands the players' role in
the team, what kind of tactics he is going to use when players are coming on to
bowl. It's not to going to gel immediately, so hopefully after today's game we
will take a little bit of information out of the game and we can use that in
the next game to have a better performance," he added.
Pakistan Playing XI in second T20: Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed
Shehzad, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed(w/c), Imad Wasim, Mohammad
Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Sohail Khan, Usman Khan, Rumman Raees
World XI Playing XI in second T20: Tamim Iqbal, Hashim Amla,
Tim Paine(w), Faf du Plessis(c), David Miller, Paul Collingwood, Thisara
Perera, Ben Cutting, Samuel Badree, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Let us know your opinion about this article, Remember a blog is not a blog without comments.