Karachi: Former players slammed Shahid Afridi’s “tactically weak” captaincy, while irate fans smashed TV sets in disgust as Pakistan reacted angrily to the national team’s defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India in the ICC World Twenty20 on Saturday night in Kolkata.
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Soon after the Indians notched up the win, disappointed cricket fans came out on roads to vent their anger and television channels showed them smashing TV sets in anger in some areas.
At some places fans also raised slogans against the Pakistan Cricket Board and the team for letting them down again.
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Former players and experts also lashed out at Shahid Afridi for his decision to drop spinner Emad Wasim and coming in to bat at one down. TVs in heart hospitals removed before game.
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Meanwhile, fearing for patients under treatment for cardiac ailments, the civil administration in the Pakistani city of Gujranwala had all TV sets removed from their wards in government and private hospitals before the Indo-Pak World T20 match.
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“The television sets were removed from the cardio wards first from the Gujranwala Civil Hospital and was then applied by other private hospitals as well,” senior heart specialist Dr Mateen said.
The sets were put back in the wards on Sunday.
“The television sets in the cardiac wards and private rooms were removed on Saturday because of the match,” he said.
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“There is a lot of anxiety, tension and stress involved in these matches for the viewers and heart patients who are already under treatment for different ailments can’t afford to take the stress of such matches. We didn’t want to take the risk of these patients suffering any shock during the match which could prove to be fatal for them,” Dr Mateen said.
