Iftikhar Ahmed celebrates a wicket with teammates at the 2023 World Cup (AP)
Pakistan team roared back to winning ways by trouncing Bangladesh in their recent World Cup 2023 outing in Kolkata. The 'Men in Green', under Babar Azam, chased down Bangladesh's 204-run total with seven wickets and more than 17 overs in hand to register their first win of the tournament after four successive demoralising defeats.
Back in October, the Pakistan team launched its World Cup 2023 campaign with confident wins against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka in Hyderabad before losing out to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa, thus drawing much criticism from all corners of the cricketing fraternity.
Several fans and cricket experts even questioned Pakistani players for not following a proper diet and for eating too much biryani, which was described as a reason behind their clumsy fielding efforts.
A couple of days prior to Pakistan's must-win World Cup 2023 clash against New Zealand, middle-order basher Iftikhar Ahmed has hit back at such critics, albeit in a hilarious manner, and claimed that a team does not simply lose cricket matches because its players are eating biryani.
Iftikhar Ahmed responds to biryani criticism
While speaking with the reports, Pakistan all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed stated that it is unfair to question a team's eating habits whenever they lose. The cricketer added that every professional player wants to remain in their best physical shape to perform for their country, and simply biryani should not be blamed for the team's defeats. He said:
“If Pakistan team wins, they will not say that the players are eating biryani. But when we lose, why do they question us for eating biryani? Its not like we are losing because we are eating biryani. Every professional cricketer sees themselves where they stand in fitness. If someone is eating biryani or doing something that tarnishes their country’s name, then even we are against it.”
Watch: Iftikhar Ahmed speaks out over biryani criticism
Iftikhar Ahmed scored an unbeaten 17 and picked up a wicket in his side's emphatic seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in Kolkata earlier this week. The welcome win was preceded by four demoralising defeats, one of which greatly hampered their chances of a top-four finish.
The Pakistan team will now face New Zealand for their subsequent must-win World Cup 2023 challenge on November 4. The much-awaited match will be played out in Bengaluru's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
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