Outgoing Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa praised the players’ “fighting spirit” when speaking with them at the reception held by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday. He said that it lifted the country.
The T20 World Cup team was welcomed by President Dr. Arif Alvi and the COAS at a nearby hotel, where the president said that the team had “played up to its reputation as being unpredictable.”
“They have made the country proud by beating the best teams on their way to the Word Cup final,” President Alvi said.
The COAS stated that while he liked Shadab Khan’s front-row batting, he also liked Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam’s.
“I believe that there is no better T20 player than Shadab Khan who has every trick up his sleeves, required for a quality T20 player.”
The COAS complimented the squad, emphasizing the value of discipline and hard effort, stating they had “made the country proud by leaving the multi-billion dollar teams behind by reaching the final.”
He said that the bowlers in the team made the matches exciting to watch. “The bowlers gave their heart out in face of a low target which was exciting to watch.” He added that the display of a fighting spirit was more important than “winning or losing”, calling it the thing that “matters the most”.
“When you lose, you should have the courage to surrender. He claimed that a person cannot be considered a real leader if they do not learn from their errors.
The COAS, a devoted sports fan who once competed in the Patron’s Trophy, revealed to The News that he was a wicketkeeper-batsman.
“Yes, I do recall playing as a wicketkeeper-batsman and scoring a century against PACO in the Patron’s Trophy Grade II.”
The squad played in the Asia Cup and World Cup finals and won the tri-nation in New Zealand during the last few months, as PCB chairman Ramiz Raja had commended.
