I play to win and the World Cup exit pained me a lot: Naseem Shah

After losing to the United States of America (USA) in their opening game of the T20 World Cup, Pakistan lost to their arch-rivals India in their next game, which almost killed their chance to qualify for the Super Eights of the tournament. Following this, ace pacer Naseem Shah was spotted crying on the ground as teammate Shaheen Shah Afridi was seen consoling him.

Despite the defeat against India, there still was a glimpse of hope for Pakistan to qualify but unfortunately, things didn’t go in their favour, leading to extreme disappointment. Opening up on the incident ahead of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, Naseem stated that he doesn’t like losing games and the exit from the World Cup hurt him. He added that people in the restaurant and even his family asked him the reason for defeat but the cricketer had no answer for them.

“Though I was not being targeted by the fans or the media, one cannot be satisfied and say I did my bit after your team loses. I am a person who wants to win. I get disappointed even when I lose while playing at home or in my street. I play to win and the World Cup exit pained me a lot,” Naseem told Cricbuzz.

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“People come up to me in restaurants and ask me why we lost. Even my relatives have asked about it. I understand their sentiments are driven by social media and, as a player, all I can do is listen to them,” he added.

We have an opportunity to win hearts again by playing good cricket: Shah

Furthermore, Naseem Shah stated that there was a sense of frustration among players and it grew more with the criticism from the fans. However, the 21-year-old acknowledged their despair and stated that it motivated the players for a stronger comeback.

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“There are times when you feel that you cannot put up with it anymore. But, it also burns a desire for a comeback. People had many questions to ask and there was a lot of frustration in them, which is understandable. Now, we have an opportunity to win the hearts again by playing good cricket," the fast bowler concluded on the matter,” Naseem concluded.