'Saw several of our boys crying': Pakistan star reflects on defeat to India in Asia Cup 2023

Pakistan's top batter Imam-ul-Haq recently provided valuable insight into the profound impact of a devastating defeat to India on the mentality of the Pakistan players in the lead-up to the 2023 ODI World Cup. Imam reflected on the 2023 Asia Cup, where Pakistan suffered a humiliating 228-run loss to India, effectively crushing their aspirations of clinching the title. The match saw Pakistan being dismissed for a mere 128 runs while chasing India's formidable total of 356. Imam vividly described the intense emotions that followed that game as well as the subsequent defeat to Afghanistan during the World Cup which dealt a severe blow to the confidence of the Pakistan team.

"The sudden loss to India in the Asia Cup (in 2023) started a downfall. The Asia Cup was a disaster. I saw several of our boys crying, a lot of them locked themselves in their rooms and many of them had stopped smiling," narrated Imam on the Ultra Edge Podcast.

After suffering a defeat to India in the Asia Cup, Pakistan faced another comprehensive loss to India in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Shortly thereafter, Pakistan's chances of qualifying were nearly extinguished with a defeat to Afghanistan. Imam expressed that these defeats had a profound impact on his teammates.

Imam Ul Haq: The Downfall of Pakistan started after Asia Cup match vs India.

They cried after match vs India in WC and then crying stopped for a while.

But then it resumed vs Afghanistan where they cried twice:

1. after losing the match
2. after watching Afghan celebration pic.twitter.com/stAoQVV3GE

— Johns (@JohnyBravo183) December 21, 2024

"I remember the exact picture after the Afghanistan match. Where I was sitting, where Babar (Azam) was, Haris (Rauf) and Shaheen (Afridi) were sitting in front of me and one of them was bitterly crying. Shadab (Khan) was sat in a corner," Imam said.

"The downfall started from the India game, and after the Afghanistan loss, it was the end for us," Imam said further.

Pakistan failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup, resulting in Babar Azam stepping down as captain. Despite being reinstated six months later, Pakistan's poor performance in white-ball cricket persisted, leading to their elimination from the T20 World Cup 2024 during the group stage. This ultimately led to Babar's permanent resignation from the captaincy.

Since then, Pakistan has undergone a resurgence winning consecutive ODI series in Australia and South Africa under the leadership of Mohammed Rizwan.

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